Wild Kratts: Power of Nature - Season 2: Chaos Arc - All Episodes
by Taismo-89
Summary: All the episodes of PoN's second season in one single fanfic! WK and all its characters belong rightfully to PBS, 9 Story and Kratt Bros company.
1. Episodes 01-02: Curse of the Black Storm

_Pain was surging through his shoulder. He could barely move any point of his body. Four hands were carrying him as they ran. His vision was blurry, so he couldn't see their faces. Their pleas and cries were muffled like his ears were stuffed with cotton. Nothing in his mind was clear except "What's happening to me?"_

 _Suddenly, they stopped. A low rumble sound came. Soon, his hearing cleared to reveal the noise to be growls. This sent shivers over his body out of fear. He heard one of the people scream. Then, there was a bright light. The growls ceased. All was quiet. "What happened?" he thought._

 _He felt the hands putting him down onto the grassy ground. That he could tell. Another, and bigger, blurry figure hovered over him. It bent down and picked him up. The hands felt soft and caring. The person laid a hand on his hurting shoulder. Instantly, the pain was gone. "How did...?" His vision started clearing too. Smiling down upon him was a beautiful woman with all kinds of flowers in her hair._

* * *

Chris shot up in his old bed. There were some beads of sweat on his forehead. He wiped them off and looked at the alarm clock. 6:30 in the morning. Only half an hour early. At least he won't be cranky.

"Another dream again," he mumbled. It had been two months since the Wild Kratts defeated Eris, the goddess of discord. And since then, the brothers had been reunited with their sisters, and even their father. They were currently staying the night with their family.

Chris had slept in his old bedroom, which he left a few years ago so his bed was still his size. It was a normal room with a dresser, a closet, a studio desk and work chair, and a bed with green sheets. Plus a nightstand. On the desk was a closed journal with a pencil nearby and a desk lamp.

The brunette got out of bed and sat at his desk. Opening to a new page in his journal, he picked up the pencil and began to write about the dream. Speaking of dreams, similar ones to the one he just had been happening for two weeks, since he and Martin felt that presence.

"Hey, wake up, sleepy-head." Martin opened the door half an hour later, entering with Mina. "Oh, you already did." He chuckled, until he saw his brother's worried face.

"Lemme guess... another of those dreams?" Mina asked.

"Yeah," he brunette answered, looking up at them. "It's been two weeks now. Any from you Martin?" The blonde's cheerful face turned into a worried one. He had been having the dreams too, but different ones.

"Yeah."

* * *

 _"I was a kid, running with a crowd of people. I didn't know why we were running, but I felt scared. Someone was pulling me by my hand and someone else held my other hand from behind. Although the one in front of me was only a little taller, I wasn't able to see his face. Only a blur of light brown and white. When I looked behind me, it was a blur of brown and green. And farther behind were more people. And the air. It was filled with screams of terror. And a hysterical laugh. It sent chills down my spine. But we kept running... and running."_

* * *

Martin had grabbed his head. "I woke up when we reached some sort of temple. And I didn't recognize anybody." His little siblings looked at him in surprise.

* * *

"So you had dreams like this as well?" Chris asked Aviva. Jimmy was also there. Koki was a little busy coloring Mina's hair black. At least the longer stripes. According to Mina, she prefered her hair that way.

"Well, just last night," Aviva told him. "I was alone. Eris was after me. I had the Elemental Gems in my arms as I ran. I reached the Earth Gem temple. Then a woman stood behind me as I escaped inside. I didn't see much after that."

"That sounds like what Flora went through," Jimmy stated.

"Exactly. It was like it was me instead of Flora."

"But you and Flora are spiritually the same," Koki pointed out.

Bite-Size just hunted bugs around the Kratts' home.

"This little bat of yours is adorable," Christine commented, as he stopped on her hand.

"I'm glad you're not scared of him," Martin commented.

"Are you kidding? We love animals as much as you guys do."

"And thanks to Hermia, he can talk too," Chris said.

"Really?" Susan asked.

"Really," the bat squeaked. The twins' eyes glowed.

"Awe! Such a cute voice!" they chimed.

"My Bitey-Sizey is really adorable," Koki said.

"Aw, Koki..." Bite-Size blushed.

"Anyway..." Chris continued speaking with Aviva. "You think we should speak to Hermia?"

"Maybe..." Aviva said.

What they didn't know was that they were being watched.

Narrowed sea green eyes with black sclera stared at the team from afar.

"I finally found you," he said his distorted voice. "And it looks like THEY are back too. But don't think this will make me forget my vow, you brats."

* * *

"So what do you make of these dreams, Hermia?" Chris asked Mother Nature.

"Hmmm..." Hermia thought. "It's possible that these are not exactly dreams... but memories from really long ago."

"Really? Like more childhood memories?" Jimmy asked.

"Not exactly. They are your memories... but they're also not."

"I'm confused..." Jimmy commented.

"Hey, look! We're famous!" Martin pointed to a stained glass window. A stained glass window that represented their first battle as Nature Guardians, when they defeated Chaos.

"Wow, we've already made history," Aviva said. She then saw another one. "And here too!" It showed them and Mina defeating Eris. Chris then noticed a peculiar one that confused and shocked him.

"Hey Hermia, what does this one represent?" he questioned. This one was not like the others. It showed him in his Guardian robe with all four elements in their original forms. His eyes were closed and he held the Earth and Water Gems in his hands. The Fire and Air Gems were held by vines. Above him was the Earth Gem. The rest of the team looked and were just as shocked.

"Is that you, Chris?" Martin asked.

"I... I don't know. And why does he have all four of the Elemental Gems?" Mother Nature came over to the stained glass window sullenly. She looked up at it with sad eyes.

"This is Terra... and besides being the first Earth Guardian... he was the first Gaia Guardian," Hermia explained.

"What?!" they all asked.

"No wonder Chris is our leader," Martin thought.

"Question: what's a Gaia Guardian?" Koki asked.

"When only one Nature Guardian wields all the Elemental Gems, they are called the Gaia Guardian. Flora was the second Gaia Guardian in history. But Terra was the first."

"Flora was... a Gaia Guardian?" Mina questioned.

"Yes, and she was one much longer than Terra. After..." The goddess didn't finish the sentence.

"Eris killed him," Chris said in a low voice. "And now I know why. If the Gaia Guardian dies, they'll be no one defending the Gems." Hermia nodded.

"I will tell you that he wasn't the only Guardian at that time before he became the Gaia Guardian."

"He wasn't?" Martin asked. "Who else?"

"There was-" Suddenly, a huge gust of wind blew into the temple. Everyone braced themselves.

"What is that?" Aviva asked. "Hermia?"

Hermia just stared in shock, recognizing that kind of wind. "This wind..."

* * *

The Wild Kratt Kids were playing in the park, playing as always.

"Is Martin coming?" Gavin asked his mother.

"You never know, son... he's full of surprises..." Laura said, chuckling.

Aidan and Nolan were building a sand castle, until the eldest looked up and saw leaves being carried by the wind, that seemed to get stronger.

"Hey, what's happening?" Aidan asked. Suddenly, the wind picked up speed and blew harder. Nolan was lifted into the air for a moment. "Nolan!" The eldest grabbed his little brother. Gavin and Ronan came over to them. The wind managed to blow Ronan off his feet for a few seconds.

"Woah! This wind is getting intense!" he commented.

"Look!" Gavin said, pointing at the sky. The four boys looked up and saw someone floating above. All they could make out of the person were black and grey clothes and black and silver hair. Storm clouds started gathering overhead and then came bolts of lightning and thunder. The person's hands crackled with electricity before the figure took off.

After he left, leaving the park a mess, the boys and the mothers gulped of nervousness.

* * *

Aviva's medallion glowed harshly.

"Huh?" Aviva got surprised.

"Mom? Mom!" Mina called her mother's attention. "What is going on?"

Hermia, finally snapped out of her thoughts, looked at them.

"Someone I thought I'd never see again is back," she said. "After so many years..."

"Uh... is... HE who you're talking about?" Jimmy asked nervously, pointing to the entrance of the temple. Walking up to them was the person Gavin saw. He had pale skin and messy black hair with his bangs a bit over his left eye. It had a single streak of silver. But what stunned the crew were his eyes and clothes. Black sclera with white pupils and sea green irises. And his clothes were a robe... that looked similar to Aviva's Nature Guardian robe.

"Hello... mother," he greeted with an evil smile. "How long has it been since we last saw each other?" Hermia narrowed her eyes.

"10,000 long years... Black Storm," she replied in a serious tone. The Kratt Bros caught the man's eyes.

"What's the matter, Terra and Aqua? Don't you recognize me?" Black Storm asked the brothers.

"H-how do you know our past names?" Martin asked, a little spooked.

"Wh-who are you?" Chris questioned. Hermia stood in front of them.

"Have you come to carry out your vow?" she asked.

"Yes I have, mother. I told Terra I would be back to kill him and Aqua if they ever returned. But now, I see that there's more Guardians now. And you can probably guess what I'll do to them."

"They loved you! They looked up to you! They put their lives to an end for you! And you show no sympathy or pity for them?!" she snapped. Everyone but Black Storm was taken aback. They never saw Mother Nature mad before. "And these three were your friends! Your BEST friends!" Hermia gestured to Koki, Jimmy and Aviva. "They did everything they could to help take on a role you've abused! And they died because of it!"

"They died because of Ventus. And Ventus is GONE!" Black Storm yelled, attacking them all with lightning bolts.

Mother Nature made a stone wall come up, protecting them. She brought it down.

"Ventus was one of the kindest humans I ever met back then! He would never do such a thing to his friends!"

Black Storm's sea green eyes glowed intensely, frightening Mina, who ran to her big sister's arms.

"Why am I even talking to you? It's those BRATS I want dead more than anyone!" He pointed at the Kratt Brothers. The bros stood frozen. What had they ever done to him to make him hate them - well, Terra and Aqua - so much?

Suddenly, Athena appeared in her carriage.

"Quick! Over here!" she called them.

"Oh no you don't!" Black Storm shot a bolt of lightning at the goddess. Activating his medallion, Chris made a crystal barrier that blasted it back. The bolt hit Black Storm, knocking him out for a moment. Everyone then hurried into the carriage and they were off. The corrupted person came to and looked in their direction with a glare.

"Mark my words, you brats, I WILL be the only one."

* * *

Chris glanced over the back of the carriage as they escaped. Black Storm was standing at the entrance of the temple, which was getting smaller as they got farther. The sky was full of dark grey clouds and lightning. He turned to Hermia, all sorts of questions running through his head. Mother Nature knew this.

"I know you both have many questions, but let's wait till we get to Athena's temple," she told them. The brothers nodded. Suddenly, pain shot through their skulls, making them yelp and grab their heads. The team looked shocked and frightened.

"Chris?! Martin?!" Aviva called. Instead, the two suddenly passed out with their heads falling onto Hermia's lap. All in the passenger seat gasped.

"Bros!" Mina cried.

"Athena! You don't think..." the goddess called to her sister.

"They are," the goddess of wisdom responded. "But it won't be long."

"Will they be okay?" Mina asked her mom.

"They'll be okay, Mina. They'll be okay."

* * *

 _"Huh?" Chris woke up somewhere different. Some sort of temple with a royal carpet to the front, where there was a stained glass window with three people on the bottom and four gems at the top. "Where am I?"_

 _"Not another move." He heard a voice, then turned around to who said that: a young man with black hair, with only a few dirty blonde stripes. He wore a white Nature Guardian robe and his eyes were sea green. And narrowed in anger._

 _"Who are you?"_

 _"Ven, what are you doing?" Chris seemed to hear... Martin's voice? He looked back to see... himself in his green Guardian robe and Martin in his blue robe? Wait... could they be..._

 _"You really thought I would just observe while people admired you both like a bunch of fools?" "Ven" said. "Always asking for YOUR help and words of wisdom?"_

 _"What are you talking about?" "Chris" asked in confusion._

 _"There can only be ONE Nature Guardian on the planet! And that Guardian... shall be ME!" "Ven" stomped firmly, and crushed the stained glass behind him, revealing the sky being covered by dark clouds._

 _"Ven" held his head, with an expression of pain, as the last few stripes of his hair became black with one silver stripe. His eyes opened in panic as he was surrounded by darkness. When the dark energy slowly fade, the man laughed maniacally as he admired his new look._

 _"Black Storm," Chris said._

 _Strong lashes of wind blew into the temple, knocking over small tapestries and blowing out the torches. It even blew in a big boulder that nearly crushed the brothers, but "Chris" made a vine grow and grab them out of the way. "Martin" made an ice platform for them to stand on. They looked down at "Ven". Lightning flashed outside as it began to hail and the thunder boomed._

 _"Ventus, please! We don't want to fight you!" "Chris" said._

 _"Please, stop this storm! You'll destroy the surface of the planet!" the blonde pleaded. Chris looked at the two, then at Black Storm in shock._

 _"Ventus? Black Storm is Ventus?!"_

 _"Ventus? Ventus is gone! I am Black Storm!" Black Storm proclaimed. "And there's only two things I'll destroy... and it's YOU!" He shot a bolt of lightning a them. "Martin" brought the platform down to evade it._

 _"Terra! Get the Elemental Gems and the Gaia Scepter! I'll keep him busy!" "Martin" told "Chris"._

 _"But, Aqua..." Terra started saying, until his brother put a hand on his shoulder._

 _"I'll be fine. I promise," Aqua said, with a calm smile._

 _Black Storm sent another bolt of electricity. Aqua blocked it with an ice wall and held his ground. "Go! Now!" Terra slowly backed away before finally turning around and ran. He passed through Chris like he wasn't there and Chris watched as he left._

 _"Is this... the past?" he wondered._

 _"Chris?" Martin's voice called. Chris looked and saw Martin on the other side of the room._

 _"Martin?" They didn't continue when Aqua's barrier started cracking. Eventually, it shattered, throwing the man in blue back and rolling on the floor. Aqua immediately got up._

 _Black Storm escaped through the temple door to run after Terra. Aqua created an ice line to skate after him, and Martin and Chris followed him. Outside the temple was a clearing in the woods. But a little away, there were the flickering lights of lanterns in a village._

 _Terra continued to run and he heard the crackling of electricity. He looked behind him and saw his corrupted brother coming after him. The Earth Guardian made a wall of thorny vines come up in his way, only for Black Storm use incinerate them with fire._

 _"Fire?! Black Storm could use fire?!" Martin asked as they ran._

 _"Let's be glad he didn't use that at Hermia's temple!" Chris replied._

 _Aqua tried to catch up to his pursuing brother. Luckily, Terra managed to reach the village and entered a shrine like building that had a magic gate in front. Black Storm entered, followed by Aqua and the Kratt Brothers. In the shrine, at the far end, sitting on four pedastals were the Elemental Gems. In the center, being hung, was the Gaia Scepter._

 _"Don't even think about, brat!" Black Storm shouted and blasted him with a lightning bolt. Terra screamed in pain and keeled over._

 _"Terra!" Aqua cried, using his ice to slide under Black Storm to reach his little brother._

 _"Terra! Speak to me!" The brunette groaned._

 _"I-I'm okay. But... we need to stop him..."_

 _"I know." He helped Terra onto his feet. Both looked at Black Storm. "Don't make us do something we don't want to do, Ventus!"_

 _Terra grabbed the scepter and held it firmly, and the Elemental Gems floated around him and Aqua._

 _Black Storm just laughed like a maniac. "Do you actually believe that you can use all four of the elements at once?" he mocked. "And without your big brother Ventus to help you?"_

 _They didn't say a word as the Gems circled them faster. Aqua took hold of the scepter as well. But as they felt the energy, their eyes widened in pain before squeezing shut. Their bodies sparked with the energy going through their bodies. Chris and Martin held each other in worry. Terra and Aqua began to glow green and blue respectively. Black Storm just prepared to attack again._

 _Aqua saw his little brother flinching in pain. He knew they wouldn't survive this battle... or at least HE wouldn't._

 _He pushed his brother aside, letting the energy flow only around him. "AQUA!" Terra screamed in shock before hitting the ground and fainting from the pain from earlier. With tears of pain and sadness in his eyes, Aqua lifted up the scepter and attacked Black Storm, who also attacked. Soon, Black Storm's attack was drowned by the Gaia Scepter's light and he yelled as he was turned into a cloud of darkness and sent away._

 _As the light faded out, the Kratt Brothers saw Aqua's body motionless on the floor and his sprigs drooped, the scepter in his limp hand and the Gems beside him. They gasped in horror._

 _Terra came to and saw Aqua on the floor. He stared wide eyed with fear for the worst. "AQUA!" he shrieked before quickly getting up. He ran to see if his brother was okay. But he gasped of shock... his body had gotten cold. Aqua was gone._

 _"No..." Tears fell from his eyes as he embraced his dead brother. "This is not fair... not fair..." He sobbed silently, his spiky hair flattening onto his face._

Chris felt tears escape his eyes and put a hand over his mouth to keep himself from sobbing. Martin was spilling tears too and had his teeth clenched to hold in his sobs.

"So THAT'S how I died..." the blonde murmured.

"He... You sacrificed yourself... for Terra... for ME..." Chris stammered. He couldn't hold it in anymore. His hair went flat as he cried into his brother's chest while he embraced him. Martin's sprigs drooped as he held him closer and they both fell to their knees in complete despair.

* * *

Chris and Martin were woken up by Mother Nature's calm touches. They opened their eyes and looked at each other. Then, they saw everybody observing them.

"Why all the looks?" Chris asked. That's when they noticed that they were resting on Hermia's lap. They sat up, only to get headaches so they put a hand on their heads.

"W-well, you both passed out for one," Aviva began to explain.

"And then, you started moaning and groaning in fear," Koki added.

"And then moments ago... you were crying," Mina finished. The brothers touched their cheeks. They were soaked. "It was a terrible sight. We couldn't wake you up. It was like you were trapped in some kind of nightmare." They looked sadly at their sister.

"If only it even WERE a nightmare," Martin said.

"There will be more explanations when we get to my temple," Athena assured. Like we promised before... no more secrets in our family."

* * *

The team was crying silently after the brothers told them their vision when they arrived at the temple. Hermia and Athena stood nearby with their heads low, tears at the corners of their eyes.

"So THAT'S what happened..." Aviva said sadly. " _Pobrecito_."

"Aqua was very loyal to both his older and younger brothers," Hermia stated with sorrow in her voice. "He would not let anything happen to them... even if it would mean his death. So instead of killing Black Storm, he changed his form and banished him to the Underworld, where he eventually escaped. After this day, both the magical and mortal worlds started to become more distant from each other in fear of one another. The mortal world feared the magical people would overthrow them, and the magical world was afraid of mortals corrupting their ways. Just like Black Storm."

"That's terrible!" Mina commented, trying to wipe all her tears away.

"Indeed, it was," Athena said. Chris froze as he looked around. It suddenly felt like he walked in here a thousands times. But the only time he ever came here was when Nick Baker exiled him from his home. So that couldn't be right.

"Does it feel like you've been here many times?" Athena asked him, coming up to him.

"Yeah," he answered.

"Not only was Terra one of Hermia's apprentices, but he was one of my students as well. He would come see me to study on the magical world and training manuals or listen to my speeches." The goddess smiled at the memories. "I never saw someone that wanted to learn so much so young like him before. And it was all for his brothers. To make them proud that he's learning as much as they were." Chris smiled at the thought.

"Well, no wonder my little bro is so awesome now!" Martin said.

"Aw, shucks..." Chris blushed.

Athena giggled at this.

"Anyway, with his brothers gone - one banished and the other dead - Terra went into a state of despair. He barely came out anymore to talk to anyone. One day, Flora saw him finally leaving and she followed him. I could only tell that she managed to lift his spirits up when he came to me some time later."

* * *

 _Athena polished her spear slowly in her temple and finished a few seconds later. When she laid it down, she heard the door open. Someone walked inside and came to her study. The goddess was surprised by the person in a green robe with his hood up. She actually wasn't expecting him to come for lessons anymore._

 _"Terra?" she called._

 _"Hi Aunt Athena..." she barely heard him say._

 _The goddess already knew about Ven's banishment and Aqua's death. "What brings you to my study in your current condition?"_

 _"I... I need your helpful words... I still haven't gotten over my brothers." Terra wrapped himself in his arms._

 _"Oh, my darling..." Athena removed his hood and kissed his forehead. "I'm sure you'll see them again. Good people don't leave forever. They reach a special place on your heart."_

 _"But I don't want them only in my heart. I want them here with me." Terra embraced his teacher._

 _Athena sighed. "Listen to me, Terra." Her adopted nephew looked at her. "Would your brothers want you sulking and pushing everyone away?" The Earth Guardian shook his head._

 _"No. They'd rather die than see that. Or at least, Aqua would."_

 _"Then he would've died now if he saw you like this. So it would make no difference if he were alive after that battle. Your brothers would want you to continue with your life. They'd want you to stay strong." Terra placed a hand over his heart. The goddess laid her hand on his. "And they'll be here to remind you that." The young brunette smiled, a tear of joy running down his cheek._

 _"Thank you, Aunt Athena." She smiled at this. Then, an idea came to her._

 _"But if you really DO want to see them again, there is ONE thing that might work." Terra looked at her in surprise._

 _"There IS?" Athena turned to her study and grabbed a book off the shelf. On the cover was a gold four pointed star._

 _"Although you won't see them in your CURRENT life, you'll see them in another." She opened to a certain page and laid the book on a desk. Terra inspected the pages. Covering both pages was a huge image with a dying man on the bottom and coming out of him was something like mist, and in the mist was the man in a spirit like form._

 _Terra read the context, which was Latin. His eyes widened. "A reincarnation spell?"_

 _"With this spell, you'll have a chance of seeing Aqua again," Athena said._

 _"Really?"_

 _"But it can only be used when you're near your own death. And it takes someone with real magical understanding to master this spell. I admitI kept it as a secret between the Guardians."_

 _"I need to learn this spell. It may be my only chance of seeing my brother again. I love him." Terra placed his hand over his heart again. "I'm willing to train harder and get better at my magic, if it means I'll see him again."_

 _"Terra... you must be put aware that you can't guarantee that your next life will be a happy one."_

 _"As long as I'm with Aqua - be it I remember him or not - I'll be spiritually happy." He closed the book and picked it up. Turning to his adoptive aunt, he hugged her and she returned it. "Thank you for everything." She kissed his forehead._

 _"I wish you all the wisdom I can give you." With a nod of appreciation, Terra departed from the room in a happy rush. Athena smiled._

* * *

"YOU gave Terra the reincarnation spell?" Hermia questioned.

"He was willing to give up everything just to be with Aqua again. His altruism was undeniable," Athena confessed. "And after all he WAS a Guardian."

"Wow..." the crew said.

"But how come Ventus became that monster we saw?" Martin asked.

"We need to find out fast, and find a way to defeat him before he causes more trouble," Chris pointed out.

The goddesses looked at each other with nervous expressions.

"To explain that, you'll have to see something before the battle against Black Storm," Athena explained. Luna came in. In her talons were two small hourglasses, one blue and another yellow.

"Hey, aren't those the hourglasses Iris gave us?" Chris asked.

"Yes. And they'll show the past to all." The goddess of wisdom took the yellow hourglass from to the owl. "Thank you Luna."

"You're welcome Athena," Luna responded before flying over to a perch.

"The battle against Chaos," the goddess of wisdom announced. The little hourglass floated out of her hand and turned upside down. As the sand started running to the bottom, a rainbow shot out and changed the scenery around everyone. The place looked like a messed up Wonderland: wacky, but dark. On a throne was a skinny, pale man with black hair wearing a black robe.

"Zach!" the Wild Kratts gasped.

"No, that is Chaos," Hermia corrected them.

 _Three grown men in three different colored robes approached Chaos' throne. He was keeping Hermia prisoner._

 _"Chaos! Release our mother!" Ventus ordered._

 _"Aqua? Terra? Ventus?" Hermia observed them, surprised. They were grown-up now._

 _Chaos laughed like a maniac. "Do you really think that I, Chaos the Demi-God of Discord will listen to simple mortals like you?" he questioned. The brothers narrowed their eyes. "I don't think so." Putting out his hand, a doll of Ventus appeared in it. He then stuck a black needle he made into the doll's behind, and Ven felt it._

 _"Ouch!" he yelped as he jumped into the air for a few seconds. Terra and Aqua watched in surprise. Rubbing his sore spot, Ventus glared at Chaos with a growl. "No more fun and games, Chaos!" He pulled out of his bag two gems: one white and one red. His brothers followed, Aqua taking out a blue gem and Terra showing a green one._

 _"Those are..." Hermia started in surprise._

 _"Oh, what are those?" Chaos asked with little wonder._

 _"The Elemental Gems!" Aqua told him. The Gems began to circle them._

 _"We'll defeat you with these!" Terra added. Chaos laughed again._

 _"I'm not afraid of you meddling rats!" Chaos threw dark lightning in their direction. But the Gems' energy created a barrier around them, bouncing the lightning back like it was nothing. The demi-god stood up from his throne in shock. " What?!"_

 _"Never call us rats!" the brothers shouted and they shot beams of energy at him. Chaos began to panic and then screamed as he was engulfed in the light. When it faded, black smoke was caught by a rainbow aura and taken somewhere. The trio breathed deeply from the exposure and discharge. The bubble holding Hermia popped and she rushed over to them. She managed to catch them before they collapsed to the ground. The goddess looked down at them with a teary smile._

 _"My sons... I'm so proud of you," Mother Nature praised them. The brothers smiled weakly at her._

 _But they haven't noticed the black stripe appearing in Ventus's hair._

* * *

The image disappeared and everyone saw themselves back in Athena's temple.

"Wow," was all the team could say.

"Wait, did anyone else see that?" Martin asked.

"See what?" Mina questioned.

"Ventus's hair. A bit of it turned black."

"You're right, sweetheart. And soon we would know... this meant trouble," Hermia stated.

* * *

Chris laid in his temporary bed in the temple, unable to sleep. The events of the day kept playing over and over in his head. First he finds out that he was a Nature Guardian - the FIRST Earth AND Gaia Guardian at that - when he was Terra, then he saw the battle against Chaos and before that saw what became of Ventus and Aqua. It was too much to fully process. The thought of Aqua sacrificing himself for his little brother made him think about Martin when he pretty much sacrificed his last breath to save him from becoming Donita's tool to make jewels. And if it weren't for the Element of Love, he would've been lost forever. It scared him. His brother died in the past. What if it happened again?

"Hey, Chris?" he heard his brother call.

"Uh... yeah?" Chris looked at him, trying to not seem worried. Martin entered the room.

"Having trouble sleeping too, huh?"

"Yeah. So much has happened and we saw so much more today. I'm... I'm nervous."

"Me too. Even with the temple protected by the barrier."

"Martin..." Chris's eyes started filling with tears. "I'm worried... I almost lost you many times. I may be pretty strong, but I don't think I can handle things without you."

Martin felt bad about seeing his brother that way. He approached his bed and sat on the edge. The older brother laid a comforting hand on the brunette's.

"Hey, don't get like this, little bro. That's what I'm here for. You may be WAAAY more serious and relatively smarter than me, but I'm still your big brother. And I need to protect you too. And I gotta admit there were many times I falied you. I remember when we had that Flight of the Pollinators adventure...

*flashback*

 _"I was desperate. I couldn't accept the fact that I've let you get carried off by a bee, a hummingbird and even get stuck in a fig full of wasps._

*change flashback*

 _"And I can mention the Let the Rhinos Roll adventure. I can't believe I let Zach fool me so easily. You ended up in trouble."_

*flashbacks end*

Martin's sprigs fell down as he sighed. "I'm the big brother... and putting it that way, the most irresponsible of both of us."

"Martin..." The blonde sighed sadly before he started getting up. "Wait!" Chris swiftly grabbed his closest hand, making him stop. Martin looked back down at him. A tear dropped from both of them. "You're as scared as I am?"

"Yup," Martin admitted.

"Then don't leave me." That statement made Martin remember a certain childhood memory.

* * *

 _He was seven years old, asleep in bed when he heard a scream from the other room. He shot out of bed and rushed to his brother's room. The blonde slammed the door open._

 _"Chris?!" he called. He heard his little brother panting in the dark and so turned on the light. Martin gasped at the sight. It happened again. His three year old sibling made a plant overgrow while he was sleeping. He probably had a nightmare of some kind, because his powers were usually stronger when he's afraid._

 _"Sshhh... calm down... what happened?" Martin asked, approaching his little brother, who was hugging his plush elephant._

 _"I... I was in the jungle... one moment, you were there... then the next... you were gone..." the little brunette stammered. "I looked... and looked... but I couldn't find you. I was scared. I was NEVER so scared before." The blonde patted Chris on the head._

 _"Come on Chris, you know I would never just disappear on you."_

 _"Then prove it!" Chris released the plush and hugged Martin, surprising him. "Don't go back to your room. Don't leave me here. Please stay." At first, he didn't know what to say. Then, Martin wrapped his arms around his little brother._

 _"Okay. I'll stay." The brunette looked up at him with hopeful eyes._

 _"Really?" Martin let go of Chris and used his powers to make a squirrel out of snowflakes._

 _"Really." The snow-squirrel rubbed its cold nose on Chris's, making them both giggle._

* * *

"Don't worry, Chris. You know I'll never, EVER, leave you. I'll always stay by your side," Martin assured, putting a comforting hand on his little brother's shoulder when he sat up.

"Really?" Chris smiled at him.

"Really." Martin made once again that snow-squirrel, that rubbed its cold nose on Chris's, making them both giggle just like that time.

* * *

Athena came walking down the corridors later when she noticed the door to Martin's room cracked open. When she looked in, the bed was empty. She would've panicked that something bad happened to him if she didn't notice Chris's room exposed. The goddess looked in there and smiled at the sight she saw. Both brothers were smiling in their sleep, with Martin sitting on the floor and his head resting on the bed. The two were also holding hands. Silently, Athena closed the door.

* * *

Outside, a dark cloud floated nearby. Sitting on top of it was the man that wanted the brothers dead.

He observed them. For a moment, he thought about his past, until darkness struck him again, making him want to return to his mission of killing them. He needed to find a way to attract them to his hands. But how?

Then, he remembered those two girls at that house they were at. He chuckled evilly at the thought.

* * *

The birds chirped a melody as the sun's rays landed on his eyes. Martin awoke to the sight of a tree. A little confused, he slowly sat up and then noticed his brother sleeping close to him.

"Chris, wake up," the blonde said, shaking him by the shoulder lightly. Slowly, Chris opened his eyes and looked up at the Water Guardian. When he noticed the area, he got into a sitting position.

"Martin, where are we?" the brunette asked.

"I don't know, but doesn't it feel familiar?"

"Now that you mention it, it does a little." Both looked around. They were under some trees near a village. It looked like the village from... they'd rather not remember THAT.

Someone passed by. They looked and were surprised to see Mother Nature.

"Hermia?" they questioned. Chris looked lower down her dress.

"Martin, look low." The Kratt in blue followed his gaze. Following the goddess were three, nervous boys. They each looked to be in different age groups. The tallest wore cream white wraps, had shaggy, dirty blonde hair with three sprigs behind him and familiar sea green eyes. That one was holding onto Hermia's dress like he'd lose her if he let go. The smallest had a hold of the eldest kid's sleeve. His eyes were hazel and he had spiky, brown hair and his wraps were mint green. The second tallest was holding the tallest one's free hand. His hair color was lighter than the eldest; a blondish color, and simply messy with two sprigs in the back. He had light blue eyes and wore pale blue wraps.

"Are those... us?" Martin asked.

"Wait, no... they may be our previous selves," Chris said. The two followed them, where they headed for a huge temple. "This must be the Gods' temple, on the top of Mount Olympus."

 _"Who are these children, Hermia?" Zeus asked, seeing her approaching the temple, where other gods and goddesses were seated. The three hid behind the goddess in shyness and fear. Mostly fear. Hermia looked over her shoulder to them._

 _"I found them living in the woods alone," she explained. "I saved them from wolves and offered them a home with me." Zeus just stared at them. Hera tapped him on the shoulder._

 _"Darling, you're scaring them." The goddess of marriage walked around her daughter and knelt in front of the boys. They backed up a bit. "It's okay, little ones. With us gods and goddesses, you're safe." The eldest child hesitantly took a few steps forward and knelt down in repsect. The younger two followed._

 _Hermia carefully held the youngest one, who tripped on his wraps and was crying a little. "Sssh... no fear, little one... I'm here." The older two came over to see if he was all right._

 _"Do you have their names, Hermia?" Hera asked._

 _"No. They would not speak. Not even to me." The queen of the gods gently picked up the eldest one, scaring him a bit. She caressed him in her arms._

 _"It's all right. You truly are safe. Can you tell me your name?" The child was tense a little until he finally calmed down a bit._

 _"... Vincent..." he mumbled._

 _"Vincent? It's a beautiful name." Hera smiled. "And do you know their names?" She gestured to the other boys._

 _"Th-they're my little brothers. Terrance is the youngest," he pointed to the brunette in Hermia's arms, "and Arthur in between," his finger went to the blonde, who was holding onto Mother Nature's dress._

 _"I insist, little ones, don't fear, for we're here to help you."_

 _"Th-thank you, Lady Hera." Hera and her husband looked surprised. The goddess of marriage gently chuckled._

 _"Sweet and smart. Such perfect children shouldn't be living alone. Where are your parents?" That must've set off something because Vincent started tearing up._

 _"They... they died after Terrance was born. Since then, I took responsibilty of raising my brothers." The gods gasped._

 _"Oh, darlings..." Athena felt bad for them._

 _"But earlier, I couldn't protect Terrance from that wolf. If it weren't for Lady Hermia... he might not have made it."_

 _"You don't need to call me Lady, darling." Hermia took Vincent from Hera. "For now on, call me Mom. I'll take care of you three."_

 _"All in favor of Mother Nature's proposal," Zeus announced. Every god and goddess in the room raised their hands._

 _"Thank you, father." Arthur and Terrance slowly came up to their new mother._

 _"Mama..." Arthur murmured._

 _"Mommy..." Terrance whispered._

 _"Mom..." Vincent said, embracing her. Hermia knelt down to hug his brothers too._

A tear of happiness escaped the Kratt Brothers.

"She WAS our mother," Martin complimented.

"And a really kind one." Chris smiled.

Suddenly, Vincent turned to them. This confused them. Everything around them vanished into white except the child. He looked at them with a sad expression.

"Help me..." the orphan pleaded.

"What?" both brothers asked.

"I'm sorry. Please help me..." Vincent started to silently cry.

"Help with what?"

 _"Martin! Chris!"_ a distant voice called. It sounded like Aviva. _"Wake up already!"_

* * *

"Bros, get up!" Mina yelled desperately as she shook her sleeping brothers.

"Wha- huh?" Martin said, confused by the rude awakening. Chris sat up and yawned.

"Morning girls," he greeted groggily. "What's the matter?"

"It's your sisters!" Aviva explained in a panic. "Someone took them last night!" All the remaining sleepiness disappeared from the brothers and they looked at the girls with wide eyes.

"What?!" they shouted in shock.

* * *

"But how?" Chris asked, as the crew walked to the main hall.

"Why?" Martin asked, desperate.

"Who?!" they both asked.

"That's what we're trying to find out now!" Aviva told them. "They just disappeared! Your parents are worried!"

"And so are we!" Chris admitted.

"We got to find them!" Martin proclaimed.

"Wait, brothers!" Athena said, entering the room. "I think that whoever is behind their kidnapping wants you to leave the temple, to leave protection. They're using them to drive you out."

"But... they're our sisters!"

"More the reason the mastermind of this would use them. You two are not leaving my temple."

The Kratt brothers sighed. "Okay."

* * *

The team, minus the brothers, departed from the temple. Chris and Martin watched as they left. They felt disappointed that they couldn't go find their sisters. Athena and Hermia came up to them from behind.

"Trust us, boys. It'll be better for you," Hermia comforted them.

"But what about our sisters?" Chris asked. "Not that I don't trust our friends, but..."

"You just have to hope that they find them," Athena told them.

* * *

"Are you sure you haven't seen anything?" Aviva asked Linda Kratt.

"Nothing," the brothers' mom replied worriedly. "The only thing we found was their room a mess. It was like a typhoon came in."

"Wait! Linda! I found something!" Mr. Kratt called.

"It's a letter." Mr. Kratt showed them the black envelope.

Linda took it from her husband and opened it. The problem was that the writing was in another language.

"It looks like... Latin," Mrs. Kratt analyzed.

"Chris would be good to help us," Aviva said. "He studied on it."

"But... they didn't let him leave the temple..." Koki reminded her. "Or Martin... for their protection."

"Protection from what?" Mr. Kratt asked.

"It's a long story. Basically, the brother of Chris and Martin in their past lives is out to kill their primes because he was corrupted by a crazy Demi-god and now the goddesses won't let them leave the protection of the temple."

"Oh, that makes sense," Mr. Kratt said, even though he barely understood that explanation.

"But aren't Martin and Chris the leaders of your team?" Linda asked. "Although it's probably some kind of trap, I know they would never let this stop them."

"You're right, mom," Mina said. "But as we said before, Mother Nature and Aunt Athena are going to keep them under lock and key. They're not going to allow them to go anywhere outside the barrier."

"They'll probably disobey and sneak out at some point," Linda guessed. "Knowing our sons, that's what they'd do. They'll do anything to help a family member in need. No matter how many orders are given to them."

* * *

"Hermia..." Athena came to find her.

"They ran away?"

"Um..."

"I knew they would," Hermia said, with a short smile.

Luna got it: Hermia was merely testing them. "Oh, Hermia... as smart as Gaia."

* * *

Martin and Chris appeared through a portal, right in the North American forest. After asking for Howler's help, they started asking all creatures about seeing any humans around. They all comfirmed seeing a man in black with two blonde girls. And both girls were unconscious.

"Okay, so we have two suspects," Martin stated when they stopped by the wolf den. "It was either Zach, or... or HIM." Chris nodded in agreement.

"Him?" Howler asked.

"Ever heard of Black Storm?" The entire pack seemed to have been startled by that name, and the pups ran back inside the den.

"It's a very old legend shared by generations of wolf packs. Are you saying he's real?"

"Yes... he's real," Chris answered in a low voice. "TOO real."

"What is this legend?" Martin asked.

"Legend said that he was previously a Guardian, then he was corrupted by Chaos, and by his own jealousy," Howler said. "They also said that the Goddess of Discord herself locked him in a sphere of darkness for defying her because of something."

"And that something is...?"

"Well, it's believed that she tried to make an alliance with him. But he refused it. When the goddess attempted to curse him with death, someone that was close to him before his corruption got in the way and took the curse instead. But the cursed was not appreciated by him because he was the one he wanted dead in the first place. So instead, Black Storm made a vow to destroy him and someone else if they ever return from the afterlife."

"Wow..." Chris said. "That's way beyond specific."

"Wait a second," Martin said in realization. "Didn't Black Storm say something about telling Terra that he'd kill him and Aqua if they come back to the mortal world?" Chris gasped, realizing what he was implying.

"You're right. So that means... I sacrificed myself for him?"

Chris shivered with that revelation. How could his past life sacrifice himself for someone who wanted to kill him? Had the sadness of losing Aqua still stayed and made him crazy? He didn't understand.

"What do you mean you sacrificed yourself for him?" the alpha wolf asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"It's a really long story. But we don't have time now. We need to find Black Storm and save our sisters."

"Oh, you mean these two?" an evil voice questioned. The brothers and the adult wolves looked up on some rocks. There stood Black Storm... with their now conscious sisters. The pack snarled angrily and the Kratt Brothers glared at him.

"Martin!" Christine called in fear.

"Chris! Help!" Susan screamed.

"Let our sisters go, Black Storm!" Martin yelled. "You got us out here without our team!"

"We're the ones you want!" Chris added.

"Well, come and get them!" Black Storm menaced, flying away, pulling the girls' hairs.

"Ouch! Not the hair!" the twins protested.

"Get back here!" Chris shouted. Activating his medallion, he used his vines to make a staircase up the steep rocks.

* * *

Aviva and the crew were returning to the Tortuga, until they noticed Chris and Martin running after Black Storm.

"What do you know? Their mother really knows them!" Aviva chuckled. "Come on!" She led the team, who followed her to follow the brothers.

* * *

The brothers and Howler's pack followed Black Storm with the kidnapped twins into the thicket of trees. They chased him until they reached a clearing between the woods and a rocky cliff. But for some reason, the corrupted Guardian and the girls had disappeared.

"What? But that can't be right," Chris said in confusion. Everyone looked around defensively.

"Looking for us?" Black Storm called from a ledge on the side of the cliff. Both sisters were holding onto each other for dear life. "I will say, little brats, we have such lovely sisters," he commented, looking at them.

"They're not YOUR sisters!" Martin snapped. The girls looked from their brothers to their captor in confusion.

"Look, in the past, we may have been your brothers, Ventus, but you weren't reincarnated with us. You're not our brother anymore!" Chris tried to explain. Black Storm only gave them a nasty glare.

 _"Why did you say that?"_ a sad voice echoed in Chris's mind. The brunette felt confused for a moment there. It sounded like his own voice.

 _'What?'_ he thought in his head.

"I told you! Ventus is gone! Only Black Storm stands!" the corrupted Guardian yelled. "And it doesn't matter if I wasn't reborn with you! I'm going to destroy you along with your friends and I WILL be the only Guardian!" The clouds above got darker and started sparking with electricity. Black Storm's hands began crackling with it again. Chris and Martin brought out their Guardian Weapons, ready to fight.

Martin was the first to attack Black Storm. Or at least, tried attacking him. He charged forward and lept up, sword ready. Black Storm simply looked away and became a smoke like mist. The blonde's sword went right through.

"What?!" he said in shock. The smoke moved to the side and solidified. The monster instantly shocked him with a palm of static, sending him falling back to the ground level.

"Martin!" Chris yelled before having the vines grab his brother. The brunette quickly shot an arrow of light at Black Storm. He dodged and the arrow hit the cliff, making different wildflowers grow.

"How can we defeat him?!" Chris wondered. "We can't even hit his face."

Aviva reached the bros in time, taking deep breaths. "Maybe... that's not... the kind of defeat needed here now," she said.

"Huh?" Chris asked.

Meanwhile, Black Storm decided to come down. He simply jumped off the ledge and landed on his feet. Unleashing large shocks of energy, he sent them specifically at the elder brother.

"Martin!" Chris cried, bringing up a quartz barrier. It bounced back the lightning.

As he looked at Black Storm, he heard a little boy's voice. It sounded like... Vincent's.

 _"P-please... help me!"_

Chris' eyes sparked, making him realize the truth: Ventus WAS still there, but he was trapped. Aviva was right: fighting wasn't the right way to defeat Black Storm. But, then what?

"Chris!" he heard someone shout. Suddenly, he felt a shock of pain strike him in the chest and he let out a short scream.

"CHRIS!" everyone shouted. The brunette knelt down with a hand over his heart. He had dropped his bow. Chris's eyes glowed white as another memory came to his mind.

* * *

 _"Are you sure about this?" Hermia asked him again. The two were standing in the shrine. Only difference was that the Gaia Scepter was laid down on a pillow on a pedestal._

 _"I'm the last Guardian, mother," Terra told her. "And I can't let my brothers' fate die in vague memory. I have to protect the Gems." Mother Nature looked at his determination. With a nod, she walked behind a pedestal with the Gaia Scepter. Knowing what he had to do, Terra took hold of the handle. Raising it above him, the Gems glowed brightly. He set it back down and the glowing stopped._

 _He stared at the green gem and then the blue gem. The Guardian frowned. The blue one was specifically Aqua's element. But now, it was his too, along with Ven's element. His determined look returned as he picked up the Water and Earth Gems. Then with his power, he lifted the Air and Fire Gems up with vines. Nervously, he turned to the crowd that formed behind him._

 _"Today, we're not mythical creatures and mortals. Today, and for the following centuries, we fight as one!" Hermia announced and lifted up the Gaia Scepter as Terra held the Elements high. The five items illuminated the shrine and the crowd cheered in courage._

* * *

 _"Focus... focus..." Terra muttered as he tried to lift the water out of the flooded field. It had been months since his Gaia Guardian coronation, and he has been busy ever since._

 _"Come on, Terra, you can do it," Rose encouraged him. Pyce stood next to his girlfriend. Little Flora was with them too._

 _"Don't just focus. Relax," the apprentice of Helios told him. The Gaia Guardian took a deep breath and let it go slowly. Terra lifted the water easily as he concentrated his strength into the Water Gem. Then using the Fire Gem, he made it boil until it was completely evaporated._

 _His three friends cheered. "All right, Terra!" Flora exclaimed. The young Guardian took a bow in thanks. "And now that that's done, are you finally free for the time being?" Terra thought about his schedule._

 _"Hmm, let's see... finished my studies with Aunt Athena, did training for the day, went to a conference with mother..." He smiled. "Yep, I'm free."_

 _"Yay!" the little hybrid cheered and rushed to embrace him. "You can play with us like old times again! It's been so long since we played together!"_

 _"Yeah. Sorry about that. How about a race? We'll give you a head start, and the rest of us will follow."_

 _"I don't see why not," the fire nymph said._

 _"I'm game," Pyce informed._

 _"Hooray!" Flora cheered. Terra laughed at her enthusiasm._

* * *

Chris woke up back into reality after this. He looked aroud to see he was in the Tortuga.

"Chris?" Aviva called.

"Ugh... what happened?" Chris moaned as he put a hand on his head.

"You were struck by Black Storm. After that, you passed out. We were so worried about you when you wouldn't wake up."

"Chris!" he heard Martin yell. The older brother rushed over to his side in worry. "I'm so sorry!" Martin's eyes filled up with tears. "I WASN'T ABLE TO HELP EITHER YOU OR THE GIRLS! I let Black Storm escape with them, and now he's gonna..." He was interrupted by Chris, as he made a signal for him to stop talking.

"Why didn't he kill me while I was vulnerable?"

"That's what we were wondering too."

* * *

 _After Chris's eyes flashed, he collapsed to the ground. The team and the wolf pack gasped._

 _"CHRIS!" Martin screamed and ran over, dropping his sword, which then turned back into his medallion. He turned his brother over and held up the upper part of his body. Tears formed in the big brother's eyes. "CHRIS! LITTLE BRO! WAKE UP!" All he got was a small groan. There was a burn mark on his shirt where he was hit._

 _"I looked at him during that. He seemed to... hesitate for some reason," Aviva admitted._

 _Black Storm hesitated for a moment, until he snapped back and grabbed the Kratt twins. "I'll let you brats go this one time! But mark my words, I WILL become the only Nature Guardian!" he proclaimed before disappearing in a dark portal with the girls._

 _"NO!" Martin shouted._

* * *

"We don't know why he didn't attack, but he got away with our sisters."

"We have to to go after th-" He tried getting up, but he only yelped at a sharp pain in his chest.

"Take it easy, bro," Martin ordered. "You did take a nasty hit from that lightning shot. Just don't move too quick."

"Okay."

* * *

Susan and Christine held each other close as they sat in their storm cloud cage. The top was the cloud and the bars were lightning bolts. The twins watched Black Storm pace in frustration. He had taken them to some old, breaking temple in some thick woods.

"The brat just had to interfere with that memory," he mumbled. "He just HAD to."

Black Storm held his head as the two parts of his mind seemed to fight each other.

"What's up with him?" Christine wondered.

"Poor guy. I think being trapped during all those years mixed up his head," Susan joked.

"Susan!" Christine scolded in a whisper.

"SILENCE!" Black Storm snapped, turning their way. Both girls screamed and held one another tighter. "I'll get our brothers tomorrow! And you'll have front row seats to it!" He laughed evilly. But in another part of his mind, Ventus was crying.

 _"Terra... Aqua..."_ he whimpered. _"I'm so sorry... please, someone help me..."_

* * *

 _The sound of laughter woke Chris up. He looked around and saw that he was in another forest. "What? Where am I now?" Suddenly, he saw movement from the other side of the bushes. He looked over and saw a little girl with two ponytails running by. Following her were two grown people, also laughing. He recognized the three: Flora, Pyce and Rose. And right on their tails was Terra. All four were happy._

 _"It's an offer you can't refuse," a familiar, dark voice said from afar. Only Chris and Terra heard it, and the Guardian came to a stop. The others didn't notice and continued running._

 _"And what IS this offer?" another voice questioned._

 _"Ven?" Terra asked softly. He went off the path and followed where the voices were coming from. Chris followed. In a small clearing, Black Storm was talking to a blonde woman in a black dress. Chris gasped._

 _"Eris," he said. The Gaia Guardian hid behind a tree._

 _"You can destroy everything if you want, but I'M the one who's gonna kill him!" Black Storm told the Goddess of Discord. "I don't need an old, rejected hag to help me!" Eris glared at him._

 _"How dare you speak to me that way, you brat!" she yelled. Dark energy formed in her raised hand. "May this last darkness be the end of you!" She blasted it at him. Terra's eyes widened and he dashed forward. Chris watched in shock._

 _"Terra!" he called, but realized it was pointless. It was a just a vision of the past._

 _"No!" the Gaia Guardian exclaimed, getting in the way of the curse. It struck him right in the heart as he passed by. He tumbled on the ground for a few seconds before getting in a kneeling position. Terra clutched his chest as he breathed deeply. A dark aura flowed from his chest and his hair started turning black._

 _Black Storm growled. "Hey! He was MINE to kill! And now, I can't! At least not in this time." He walked over to his brother with a scowl on his face. "Mark my words Terra, if you and Aqua ever return to the mortal world, I'll kill you myself."_

 _"Speaking of kill, I'm still going to kill YOU!" the evil goddess shouted, taking out her shadow scythe. "Especially for killing my son!"_

* * *

 _Athena and Hermia gasped as they saw their Gaia Guardian, sprawled on the ground and taking deep breaths and his hair completely black. Eris had run away from there, after trapping Black Storm in a dark sphere._

 _"Terra..." Hermia gasped. He wasn't being corrupted: the dark energy that hit Terra... was poisoning him. She placed her adopted son on her lap._

 _"Mother..." Terra said, struggling to say some words. "Aunt Athena... tell... everybody... to keep... their hope... up... we... c-can't let... Eris win... do this... for... Aqua... Ven... and me..." He took in a sharp breath. "And... I promise... you'll... see me... and Aqua... again... someday..." He gave his last breath, as his body gave up fighting, and the darkness left his body, leaving his hair brown again and drop._

 _Hermia tried not to cry, as she and Athena agreed on his last words._

Chris felt himself crying again. "Even after all he's done, he... I still loved him," he realized. "He was still my brother, even after being corrupted."

 _"And I still wish I can help him,"_ came a disembodied voice. Chris recognized it as the same from when before he fought Black Storm. The scene suddenly ripped apart into white. The brunette looked behind himself. Standing with his back towards him and his hood up was someone in his green Guardian robe. Chris stood surprised for a second.

"Terra...?" Chris was surprised. His past self... in front of him? "B-but... how?"

 _"Let's just say it's a side effect of the spell,"_ the Gaia Guardian said, removing his hood. There was no black, only brown. Terra turned around. It was like looking in a mirror.

"A side effect?" He then gasped. Could this be linked to...? "Wait. My powers... well, my born powers... Athena said something about 'spiritual inheritance'. I got them from you, didn't I? Because you were a Guardian."

 _"Yes. Apparently, when a Guardian is reborn, not every bit of their spirits go back to how they were beforehand. The reason is unknown, but it also means that the original mind of the spirit becomes a subconscience."_

"Hm... I always wondered about that," Chris admitted. "But since you're here, I guess I need your help."

 _"I know. Black Storm's on the loose again,"_ Terra said. _"And you want to find a way to free Ven."_

"Yes. Even in a new life, he IS my brother. And me and Martin always save family." The second mind smiled as a tear went down his face.

 _"Martin... Aqua..."_

"Oh yeah, nearly forgot. You got what you wanted. To be with him again."

 _"I know. And I'm glad about that,"_ the deceased Guardian admitted. _"I feared at first that the spell didn't work, but then... I saw your amazing adventures, and all the nice things you've done, even before you became a Nature Guardian."_

Chris blushed in embarrassment and rubbed the back of his neck. "Aw, shucks... that means a lot from you."

Suddenly, a light started appearing.

 _"Looks like you're about to wake up."_

"B-but I still have so much to ask..."

 _"Maybe Iater i'll be able to answer your questions. Just whatever you do, don't use your negative feelings!"_ he warned, before he vanished.

* * *

"Terra?" Chris woke up.

"Huh? What?" Mina said when she was woken up, confused. Chris looked around. The brunette then noticed his medallion glowing strangely. The Earth Guardian picked it up to inspect it.

"That's weird." He looked over at Martin, who was still sound asleep and had insisted on sleeping by his brother's side last night.

* * *

 _Martin opened his eyes. He was met with a pale grey, clear sky over a dark ocean. The Water Guardian was a standing on the edge of a grey forest, which was close to the bluff that connects the sea to the land. The grass was a dull, dark green._

 _"Wh-where am I?" he asked himself. Suddenly, he heard a groan. Looking down, he saw a man in a blue robe with blonde hair like his lying down on his stomach, facing the sea. Slowly, the man got on his knees like he was tired. He finally recognized him. "Aqua..."_

 _Aqua looked at the sea. At first, he didn't know why he ended up there. The place was silent. Neither said a word. The first Guardian placed a hand over his heart, only to lightly gasp and move it away. Martin didn't have a clue what was going on. Aqua held his head low, his hand in a light fist over his heart._

 _"It's true," Martin heard him say. A light breeze began to blow. "I didn't survive. And now, I'm here." The spirit took two steps towards the edge. He locked both his hands together. "Terra, I'm sorry I had to leave you like that. But stay strong, never give up, and promise me... that we'll see each other again."_

"So this is where Aqua ended up after the battle." Martin had put the pieces together. "Well, spiritually anyway. What a weird limbo." He didn't notice someone coming up from behind and the forest disappearing into white. The man in a blue robe stopped a few feet away.

 _"Hello, Martin,"_ he called. The Water Guardian turned around, surprised that the voice sounded like his. The rest of the scene disappeared. The man stood there with his hood up.

"Wait. Aqua? But, weren't you...?" He looked behind himself, only to see nothing.

 _"I'm your subconscience now, silly,"_ Aqua chuckled.

"Oh, like Pinocchio's talking cricket?"

 _"Huh?"_

"Oh... um, nevermind. So where are we?"

 _"I cannot say for sure. Terra might have an explanation. For even in a new life, I possess not enough knowledge like he does."_

"Same as the past, huh?" The second mind smiled under his hood and shed a single tear.

 _"Yeah. Exactly alike. I was starting to worry that I would never see him again... but I saw everything you saw. Your adventures, your loyalty, your care for others. I'm proud of that."_

"Thanks!" Martin went up to Aqua and hugged him tightly.

This caused Aqua's hood to fall down, revealing a look of surprise. Then he smiled and returned it. Martin looked down from his position and noticed something black on the inside of Aqua's robe. He backed up in confusion.

"What is that?" He pointed to the stain. His subconscience looked down at the stain and frowned.

 _"Sometimes... an unfinished duty wounds you."_ He unbuttoned the blue button that kept the top part on and pulled the left aside. Martin gasped. Over his heart was a huge black stain. _"I got this because I couldn't save Ven. I wasn't able to purge the darkness from him. I failed both him and Terra. It's been my greatest regret."_

"Wow... I know what you mean," Martin sighed.

The prime looked at Aqua. He knew he had to do something. Not just for him, but also Terra and the whole world. "Aqua, I swear that as the new you, Chris and I will save Ventus. Family is family, whether it's the past or now." Aqua's eyes glistened with hope.

 _"You'd do that?"_

"Of course." Aqua smiled at his.

 _"Thank you."_ Suddenly, it got brighter and brighter. Martin had to shield his eyes.

* * *

Martin woke up to someone touching his shoulder. He looked up and saw Chris looking down at him.

"Martin? Are you ok?" Chris asked.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you, but... I spoke with Aqua." Chris's eyes widened.

"You too?"

"Wait." Martin sat up. "Does that mean you met Terra?"

"Yes. He's become my subconscience," Chris explained. "And I think I know how to stop Black Storm now."

"You do?!"

"Ven is in him somewhere. I heard his voice calling for help."

"Ven?" Martin questioned. "Did you say..."

"Listen... forget what I said that time. I was wrong: although we were the only ones that were reincarnated, somehow he IS still our brother," Chris said. "We need to go after him."

Suddenly, Martin's medallion started glowing like Chris's was.

"What's going on?" Mina asked.

Martin picked up his medallion. "What the?" Both green and blue medallions started reacting to each other.

Once they made contact, both started to show an image.

* * *

 _It was of three little boys in apprentice uniforms. The smallest was in a green uniform with a green circle in the middle, the tallest wore a white uniform with a white circle on his left shoulder and the medium had on a blue uniform with a blue circle on the right shoulder._

 _The three brothers were huddled together in worry. Hundreds of others were crammed into a shelter, with voices of panic filling the room. Near the brothers were a little girl with ponytails, a woman in an orange outfit with gold accessories and a red haired apprentice._

 _"Enough!" a loud voice boomed over the commotion. All noises ceased and everyone looked to the back, where Zeus stood. "Everyone! Do not panic! There is still hope to stop Chaos! And it's_ these _!" Moving to the side, four glowing gems were revealed. The crowd admired them, including the six friends. "The Elemental Gems. Embodiments of the four elements of nature themselves."_

 _"You think it's a good idea?" Terra asked._

 _"Youngling, your Mother created these gems to be used in emergencies. And this IS an emergency," Zeus explained._

 _"Grandfather is right, brother. We don't have a choice," Ventus said._

 _"Including that we discussed that the ones to use them... are her trustful apprentices." The brothers' eyes widened and everyone else gasped in surprise._

 _"Us?!" all three exclaimed._

 _"You must. Your mother and we all need your help." Athena knelt, holding Terra's hands._

 _"But they're just kids!" a nymph protested._

 _"And they have little experience with any magic!" a male apprentice added. Soon, the place was in an uproar. Some were complaints of why they were picked. Others defied the idea of sending the kids out there to fight a dangerous foe. The six friends looked around them in worry. Then, out of the blue, Ventus dashed forward through the crowd._

 _"Ven!" Aqua called, though his voice was drowned by the commotion._

 _"Ven, wait for us!" Terra shouted. The two followed him. Athena smiled at that. The three brothers had made their way up the staircase to the Gems. Zeus smiled down at them. The crowd went silent and watched. The three stopped and breathed deeply to catch their breath. Ven looked up at his grandfather._

 _"Are you willing to take this task?" the King of the gods asked. The white apprentice nodded firmly._

 _"I am, grandfather," he answered. He then turned to his brothers. "Will you join me, my brothers?" He held out his hands. The two stared for a moment. Then they nodded._

 _"If you're doing it, so am I," Aqua replied, taking a hand._

 _"Me too," Terra added, doing the same. Suddenly, the Elemental Gems started glowing harshly. Gasps filled the room as they floated into he air and started to circle the trio. The three then found themselves being lifted into the air. They felt great surges of power flow into them and they were engulfed in a bright light. Their friends below stood shocked. Three silhouettes appeared in the light. One was blue, another green and the last one was a creamy color. They were small, but suddenly started changing; the arms and legs got longer and the body shape changed a bit._

 _As he light lowered, it began to die down, leaving the silhouettes. When they touched the ground with the elements still circling them, the lights of the silhouettes faded... revealing three grown men in majestic robes. Every soul in the shelter gasped, even the gods._

 _They all observed each other, in surprise and wonder._

 _"Brothers... let's go save our mother," Ventus said, putting the Air and Fire Gems in his bag._

 _His brothers nodded, Aqua taking the Water Gem and Terra handling the Earth Gem._

* * *

The Kratts were wide eyed. "Wow, I had no idea," Martin commented.

"So we need everybody to bring Ventus back! All the Elements!" Chris concluded. "Joining our strenghts, we can turn him back to normal!"

"Wait. I don't think that's the only thing we need to save Ven."

"It isn't?"

"I think we need... something else." Martin held up his medallion. The snowflake symbol appeared and was flashing over and over. Chris then noticed the flower on his medallion appeared and was flashing as well. The two flashes were perfectly synchronized. Their eyes sparked, realizing the one element they need most of all.

* * *

Black Storm was ready to cause more trouble to drive out the brothers. He was about to leave the crumbling temple.

"Wait! You're just going to leave us here?" Christine complained.

"I only kidnapped you two because I knew those brats would come after you," the corrupted Guardian explained. "And now, they're completely vulnerable. Once I find them and those other three, they're dead."

 _'That's what YOU think!'_ Ventus yelled. Black Storm groaned.

 _'Shut up, you twerp! You have no say in this!'_

 _'I know for certain now that Terra and Aqua will stop you!'_

 _'I said SHUT UP!'_ Black Storm held his head.

"Black Storm!" he heard Chris' voice. "We're here!" The Wild Kratts were all there.

"Martin!" Susan called.

"Chris!" Christine exclaimed happily. Black Storm narrowed his sea green eyes at them.

"How did you find this place?" he questioned.

"THESE brought us to you!" Martin said, and he and Chris held up their medallions. Both were glowing brightly. "And although they're now our elements, they still carried your brothers' memories of being happy with you!"

"I'll only be happy when they're really gone!" Black Storm shouted.

 _"Really? They do?"_ Ventus' voice was heard by the team. Black Storm looked around trying to find out where the voice came from.

"And even after what Black Storm put them through, Ven, they still cared about you like nothing changed!" Chris told him. This caused to Ven to cry, not that anyone outside his mind could see.

 _"They did?"_

"They still loved you, Ven," Martin stated.

"And we do too!" both brothers told the boy. Black Storm growled.

"You think that that pitiful nonsense will do-" he began, but his rant came to a halt. His eyes widened in shock. Black Storm brought a hand to his cheek. When he looked, he was even more shocked. A tear.

"NO! Impossible!" Black Storm gasped. What was happening?

"Ventus! If you can hear us, FIGHT!" Chris said. "We trust you!"

 _"Terra..."_

"We believe in you!" Martin added.

 _"Aqua..."_

"NO! Stop!" Black Storm shrieked in pain, holding his head.

The Guardians saw Black Storm kneeling on the floor, holding his head. They surrounded him, while Mina prepared her scepter.

Martin and Chris put their hands on the specter, concentrating their power.

The Guardians were in their robes again. Aviva, Koki and Jimmy focused their powers on the Kratt Brothers. But as the power entered them, their eyes widened and then squeezed shut. Their bodies started sparking and glowing.

 _"No! Don't do it!"_ Ventus screamed in desperation. _"Not again!"_

"Trust us, brother," Chris shouted. "It'll be alright!"

"NO!" Black Storm screamed in fear.

 _"Terra... Aqua..."_ Both brothers lifted the Gaia Scepter into the air. A rainbow light was shot out, plunging onto Black Storm.

"NOOOOO!" both consciences screamed, Black Storm in fear and Ventus in sadness.

* * *

Hermia and Athena followed the light they saw. Once they reached the crumbled temple, they saw the Wild Kratts slowly standing up after that single attack. Christine and Susan, now free from Black Storm, ran to help their brothers.

"Are you both okay?" Susan asked. The brothers smiled at their sisters. It replaced their words and the girls smiled at that.

"I knew you would make the right choice," Hermia said, putting her hands on the brothers' shoulders. "Instead of choosing total defeat... you chose to purify and forgive."

She looked behind them and saw Black Storm's destroyed robe moving. Inside of it, there was a fainted little boy in white waking up. "Ventus?" Hermia called. Everyone looked. Ventus looked up with eyes full of regret. "It's been 10,000 years since anyone saw you like this." The restored apprentice sniffled, tears falling.

"Everything that happened to my brothers... to my friends... it's all my fault."

"In part, but it was mostly Chaos' fault," Chris said.

"I think it's time to leave the past behind us." Hermia extended her hand. "You can still return home with me. I'll continue to guide and protect you. We can restart our lives, my son."

Ventus closed his eyes, and ran to embrace Mother Nature.

"I'm so SORRY! I missed you so much, Mom."

"And I missed you too." Hermia wrapped her arms around her child. Chris and Martin walked up to the two. Ven felt them approaching and looked at them.

"If you want... we can try to be like them," Chris said.

Martin nodded. Ventus's eyes started tearing up again. He smiled at them. "You don't have to try. You're exactly like them. In every way." The child made his way over to them and the three shared an embrace. Meanwhile, Mina examined the Gaia Scepter. Something wasn't right. Looking closely, she gasped.

"Guys! The scepter's crystals... disappeared!" Mina observed. The Kratt Bros took a look at it: it was true. Except for the point's sphere, the rest of the crystals had disappeared. They looked up to see the crystals flying in different directions.

"Looks like a new challenge," Chris said.

"And a new adventure begins," Martin commented.

* * *

A small grey crystal reached a strange vortex in the depths of a forest.

Once it landed on the other side, someone picked it up.

"Hmmm…"

* * *

The crew reunited in Hermia's temple, and so did their relatives.

"Guardians, dear friends, today is another happy occasion for our world. The Nature Guardians did something that even I wasn't able to do: they brought my son Ventus back," Hermia said, as she stood in front of a stained glass window, covered by a curtain. "And for that, and once again saving the planet, we shall be forever grateful."

Mother Nature nodded towards Ventus, who was holding a rope. He yanked it and the curtain came apart. The glass window showed the Guardians defeating Black Storm and reviving Ventus. And the Kratt Brothers were holding the scepter. The team looked in awe. Ventus walked up in between the Kratt Brothers and they took his hands.

Everybody smiled. It was another victory. Not only for the brothers, or for Mother Nature, but for all the planet.


	2. Episode 03: Love is War

A human woman and an earth nymph were talking to each other as they were walking.

"So Ponya, anything new from Aunt Aphrodite?" the nymph asked teasingly.

"Not much today," the human in a pink apprentice dress answered.

Suddenly, she caught sight of a certain statue in the Mystical Garden.

"Wow..."

The nymph looked in the same direction. The specific statue showed a young man heroically wielding a special scepter. He wore a majestic robe and vines holding four gems circled him. She looked at his face and saw that he was very charming with that look of determination.

"Who is that?" Ponya asked the nymph.

"That, is the first Gaia Guardian in our history," she answered. "I believe you were taught about this in normal lessons, right?"

"Yes, but I never paid much attention to them." The nymph sighed.

"Well, his name, is Terra."

"Terra..." she sighed heavily.

Her eyes sparkled. He was gorgeous.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the human world, Chris played with Aidan and Nolan.

The brunette was teaching them how to properly throw the frisbee. So far, they were successful. Unfortunately, Aiden miscalculated his shot and it nearly hit Chris in the head. "Whoops, sorry Chris," he called out.

"I'm okay, didn't get hurt," the Earth Guardian replied, picking up the disc. Unknown to them, a silhouette of a woman was watching.

"So it's true... he's back," she whispered to herself. "And it's just as she described him. *sigh* Still so handsome..."

Suddenly, the silhouette heard a female voice.

"So, are you guys having fun?" Tania asked.

"Yeah, mom!" Aidan said.

"Mommy!" Nolan said.

"Hey, Tania!" Chris greeted, obviously happy to see her. The silhouette took notice of that.

"Who is THAT?" she asked herself, not happy with what she is seeing.

* * *

Aviva observed them both from the roof of the Tortuga and sighed. She still felt something for Chris, and although she was happy he found someone, she was sad about throwing away so foolishly the chance of being with him.

"Still hasn't gone away?" Mina asked, knowing what she was doing.

"No. It's just that... it feels like I've been feeling it for a long time." The hybrid then remembered that conversation she had with Flora.

"I think I know why." Her older sister looked at her, confused. "I once talked to Flora if she ever liked someone and she said that she liked a human from millenniums ago. That he was the first one to ever treat her equally. And she said it was Terra."

"That must be it..." The engineer sighed. "Poor Flora. She was probably still a young nymph when he was killed. I can only imagine how heartbroken she must've been." When she looked through her binoculars, she spotted the silhouette in the shades of the trees. "Wait... who's that girl right there?"

* * *

"Don't hog him for too long, mom!" Aidan teased as he and Nolan moved over to throw the frisbee.

"Aidan!" their mother lightly scolded, her cheeks a little pink. Chris's face was a little pink too.

Suddenly, the frisbee started to float by itself, and floated to a tree branch.

"I'll get it," Chris said. But as he reached the branch, he felt a hand grabbing him and pulling him up.

"Chris?!" Tania asked.

Suddenly, there was a flash. Tania looked to see a note falling. She picked up before it reached the floor.

"The Earth Guardian is mine, lady. You think you can have him only for yourself? I challenge you to a tournament. The winner earns his love forever!" she read it, gasping.

"I need to warn the Tortuga crew."

"Mom, where did Chris go?" Aiden asked worriedly, running up to her with his little brother.

"I'll explain when we get to the Tortuga."

* * *

"Wild Kratts!" Tania called, running to the ship with her sons behind her. Everyone looked in her direction. Laura was present with Martin.

"Tania, what's the matter?" Laura asked her BFF.

"Hey, wasn't Chris with you?" Martin questioned.

"That's what we came to tell! Look!" She showed them the note. The team and Laura gasped.

"Someone took Chris?!"

"I recognize this pink tone of paper," Luna said. "I guess one of Aphrodite's apprentices did this."

"Then we better see her right away," Aviva concluded. Everyone nodded in agreement and Luna summoned a portal to Aphrodite's temple. The crew and the girls and boys followed her.

* * *

Aphrodite was busy tidying a rose garden by her temple. Each colored rose represented a different form of love. There were two special roses that she tended to was most glad of. Two roses were set close to each other. Both had yellow and red petals, but one had a green stem and the other had a blue stem. These roses - at least the yellow petals - represented the brotherly love between the current Earth and Water Guardians.

There were two other roses also growing near them. They were red with gold stems and leaves. One was much closer to Martin's rose and the other was slowly coming closer to Chris's. The red meant love. Like love for another person not related to you. But then, she noticed another red rose coming towards Chris's rose, but it had more thorns on its stem than the other. This made her concerned. It meant that someone else loved the Earth Guardian and wanted to take him.

"Milady..." A butterfly-winged nymph came to see her. "We have some visitors."

* * *

Aphrodite read the note the Wild Kratts showed her.

"I recognize this calligraphy. Ponya wrote this letter."

"Ponya?" Martin questioned. It sounded too much much like the name of a girl in one of those Japanese movies. Not to mention it had an eerie resemblance to Tania's name.

"While not one of my most knowledgeable apprentices, Ponya is one of my most well trained. Though, she can be a little stubborn at times and often challenges others over something she likes."

"And it's obvious that she likes Chris," Koki pointed out. The goddess of love's thought went back to the invading rose.

"So it was HER rose that was growing..."

"She likes Chris?" Tania asked. "But why?"

"I think because she saw his previous self's statue." The nymph that talked with Ponya appeared.

"Huh?" Laura, Tania and her kids said at the same time.

"It's a long story, guys," Martin responded to them. "But there's a statue of Terra?" he asked.

"Yes, in the Mystical Garden," Aphrodite explained. "It was made after Terra's Gaia Guardian coronation."

"Part of normal lessons is the history of The First Guardians," the nymph told them. "And Ponya was most interested in him. When she saw his statue... I think she fell in love."

"But then, she's in love with Terra! Not Chris!" Tania said, angry that she took her "boyfriend" for someone that was probably dead. The earth nymph nervously chuckled and sweat-dropped.

"Well, about that... she heard from others that Terra had been reincarnated into the new Earth Guardian. So she dashed off to search for him. And I guess he still looked the same as when he did years ago and she took the chance to make him hers."

"She'll be disappointed," Aviva said. "Chris already likes someone." She looked at Tania, sighing.

"So, how does this challenge work?" Tania asked.

"Tests of resistance," the nymph stated. "Which tests, you'll only know when you speak with the challenger."

* * *

Ponya, dressed in a woman warrior uniform, waited for Tania to arrive at the Mystical Garden. She looked over at Chris, who was unconscious at the moment and was laid against the statue of Terra. She stared lovingly at his features. He really was the most gorgeous person she ever laid eyes on.

"Once I win, you're all mine," she said to herself.

"You sound so sure of yourself, even when we haven't even started," she heard someone argue. The apprentice turned around and saw Tania, arms crossed and eyes narrowed. The team as well as the earth nymph and Aphrodite were behind her. "No one steals Chris from anyone, especially me."

"You mess with him, you mess with all of us!" Martin said.

"Stand back, Nature Guardians. This is just between me and Ms. Googly-Eyes here."

Tania clenched her fists in anger. She hated when people mocked her for her glasses, which unfortunately, happened really often.

"As you know, I accept your challenge." She looked over at Chris. "And I'll make sure I win. For you Chris." She focused back to the challenger. "What's the first challenge, Ponya?"

Ponya simply smirked.

* * *

"Athletics." Ponya showed to them her training room: it just looked like the Olympics' set. "As love spreaders, Aphrodite makes sure we're in shape. And I guess that's the last thing you are now." She pressed Tania's belly.

The girl in glasses growled.

"I believe I'm fit enough to take you down!" she said, swatting her hand away. She had been redressed into a green sports shirt and navy blue sports shorts. On her feet were white running shoes. The others were on the bleachers. Martin had Chris's head laying on his lap while he was still out.

"All right. It's going to be a race and a show of power and skill. We start here where we're standing. Then, we run and jump over the hurdles. That's part one. Part two is javelin throw and long jump to show power. And lastly, the trampoline and the balance beam to show skill and reflex."

"Fine. Let us begin!" Tania said.

*BG music: The Cars - You Might Think*

Ponya and Tania went through all the challenges, but Ponya defeated her in most of them.

Some objects seemed heavier or higher for the girl in glasses.

Mina thought that was really weird, and secretly snuck out of there to keep an eye on the challenges. Ponya really made certain objects heavier for Tania, and this was clearly cheating.

"I heard about doing anything for love, but that's just mean," she thought.

Tania breathed heavily, exhausted.

"We're almost tied, girl," Ponya said. "ALMOST. As you can see, my skills are waaay better than yours."

Aphrodite saw everything and felt that surely was something wrong. Chris started to wake up, dizzy.

Martin was the first to notice. "Chris! You're awake!" he announced. Aiden and Nolan came over to check on him. The three helped him sit up, with him holding his head with one hand.

"What happened?" he asked. "Last thing I remember was being grabbed and pulled into a tree."

"Let's just say there's a love-off over you, bro."

"Huh?" Chris looked to see Tania staring angrily at Ponya, as she breathed heavily. "What? Am I some kind of trophy here?"

"Actually one of them does like you for real, and the other just thinks you're attractive," Mina explained. "Ponya cheated to make Tania lose, guys. But I can't tell anything at loud. She'll deny everything I say."

"Oh, boy..." Laura commented.

"Since you're nearly drawed, I believe the best way to solve this is through the final test," Aphrodite told them. "Chris, come here for a second, please?" The Kratt in green obeyed immediately, and smiled as Aphrodite whispered her idea in his ear.

Meanwhile, Tania sighed heavily. "I can't win against her, Laura. She's way stronger and faster than me," she said.

"Aw, come on! Don't tell me you're giving up!"

"Mom, do this. For Chris," Aidan said.

"But... I feel like it's... unfair. I mean, we're talking about a person's feelings, not about a silly trophy."

"Looks like your opponent doesn't care a bit about that," Laura observed. "All she knows about Chris is that he's good looking. Of course, not as good looking as Martin." She smiled at her boyfriend. Martin lightly blushed at that and averted his gaze a bit. Laura looked back at her friend. "But other than that, she knows nothing. You still have a chance."

"I don't know..." Tania sighed.

"Okay, you all. Let's all head to the last challenge," Aphrodite said.

* * *

They were close to a small trench, and on the other side of it, there was a finish line.

"Okay, girls. This is the last challenge. The one that'll determine the winner," Aphrodite said. Chris joined the girls, ready to run. "The first one to cross the trench and climb to the finish line with your partner wins."

"Partner? I don't need a partner!" Ponya thought out loud. "I can win by myself."

"On your marks... get set..." Koki and Jimmy said. "GO!" The girls and Chris ran close to them, knocking one on top of the other. They blushed before standing up.

Tania and Ponya climbed down the trench, with Chris following them.

Tania looked over her shoulder, a little worried about Chris. Then she focused forward, but not completely. She still had worries going through her head. Worry about losing not just the challenge, but also Chris forever. The woman in glasses was so focused in her thoughts that she didn't see the ditch coming up.

"Tania! Look ahead!" Chris called, snapping her out of it. She had enough time to jump over, as well as Ponya and Chris.

But what they didn't notice was the crumbling sound upon them, caused by Chris's alert. Soon, a part of the trench crumbled, making rocks fall all around them. Tania and Ponya ran quickly, eventually undoing the girl in glasses' ponytail, but when the dust disappeared, while Ponya ran to the finish line, Tania looked back to see something terrible: Chris was fainted under all those rocks, and seemed severely wounded.

"CHRIS!" She ran to see him, dropping her glasses. "Chris, speak to me!" She held his face carefully.

"Ugh... T-Tania?" Chris recognized her voice.

"Don't worry! You'll be okay!" She rushed to try moving the biggest of rocks from there.

"Tania... d-don't worry about me... you need to... defeat her..."

"I don't care a bit about this competition now! You gotta... be... okay!" Tania growled, succeeding in moving the rock a bit, calling Chris's attention.

* * *

Aviva and Aphrodite observed everything with their binoculars. Then, they saw the rocks down there.

"Oh, no! You think something bad happened to..."

"Look! Here comes Ponya!" Laura noticed the apprentice reaching the finish line.

"Yes! I won!" Ponya cheered.

"But where's... wait!" Aviva saw Tania carrying a severely wounded Chris. She was tired, and it was hard for her to see anything without her glasses, but nothing would make her stop now.

As she and Chris crossed the finish line, the team, especially Martin, rushed over to help them. Martin took Chris off of Tania to look over his injured brother. Laura held her up, her legs weak from the challenge. However, Tania staggered over to where Martin was kneeling, holding Chris's upper body up. She collapsed to her knees beside him.

"Ch-Chris, will you be okay?" she weakly asked him.

"I... I think so," Chris said.

"Well, finally you're here. Guess I won this competition, so this means his love is mine now. Isn't that right, milady?" Ponya mocked Tania and looked at Aphrodite.

"Not exactly," the Goddess of Love said. This answer surprised both of the girls.

"What? But I reached the line first!"

"True. You did reach the line first. But without your PARTNER."

Tania understood. Chris was the partner, not her.

"She's right! Tania was the only one that crossed the line with her partner," Martin realized.

"Chris and I planned to see if you really cared for him. But that part where Chris got stuck wasn't a part of it," Aphrodite admitted. "That wasn't supposed to happen. But it more proved that Tania cared about him."

"This means..." Tania's eyes glowed. "I won?"

Chris sat up, not caring about the bruises all over his body.

"Not only the competition... but since we met... you won my heart."

He caressed her face calmly, and kissed his winner firmly. Tania, realizing this was a yes, shed some tears of joy while kissing Chris back. The Wild Kratts observed that scene, happy for them.

Ponya just stared at them in shock. A tear went down her face as she retreated. But she wasn't the only one that had a tear. Aviva was surprised by the tear that came from herself.

 _'I guess this is for the best,'_ a voice in her head said sadly.

"Huh?" The Hispanic looked around. She realized the voice sounded like hers.

 _'He deserves her. Goodbye, Terra.'_ The usage of the name made everything click into place to her.

 _'Flora?'_ she asked through thought.

Aphrodite was going to go after her apprentice, but Tania called her attention.

"Wait. I know this kind of feeling. She won't feel the same for a while, but I'm sure that as much as I accepted the fact that my previous love was gone, she'll accept this as well."

"You do know a lot about love, don't you?" The blonde goddess smiled.

"Trust me... as Shakespeare said: It is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all," Tania said. Aviva heard these words and thought for a moment.

* * *

Later, in Apollo's temple, Chris recovered from his injuries as he was helped by the team.

"He'll soon recover himself, dear niece," the sun god said.

"Thanks, Uncle Apollo," Mina said.

Aviva saw Tania putting her glasses back on. Laura had found them back in the rock pile.

"Um... Tania... can I speak with you for a moment?"

"Sure Aviva. What's up?"

"Um... well..." She took a deep breath.

"Is it about your feelings for Chris?"

"*gasp* Did he..."

"No... I kinda realized it by myself."

"You did?"

"I saw your expression when me and Chris were together. All the times, you seemed... sad. Tell me, Aviva... do you still feel something for him?"

"I don't know anymore, Tania. I was dumb enough to not notice when HE was liking me like that... and now I realize... that me and him would never go well."

"Huh?"

"I saw Ponya's behavior... and saw me in her. Over-competitive, full of herself... caring more about her own business than her friends..." Tears formed in Aviva's eyes. "That's not the kind of girl Chris deserves. He really deserves someone like you." She smiled at Tania. "You're always there by his side, protecting him and wanting him to be happy... by being just the way he is."

Tania smiled with those words.

"After you said that beautiful thing to Aphrodite, I finally realized that suffering about the chance I lost will not solve anything."

"Aviva..."

"Promise me that you'll take good care of him, okay?" She held out a hand.

"Promise." Tania took her hand and they shook on it.

* * *

That night, Chris and Tania observed the stars.

"Are you okay, darling?" Chris asked.

"I couldn't be better." Tania smiled at him. "I really thought I would never accept Craig's death... but you brought me a chance to continue my life."

Chris blushed a bit at that and smiled. He casually wrapped an arm around her back to pull her closer to him. They then made eye contact before their lips met.

Down below, Martin and Laura were observing.

"Little bro's all grown up as of now," he commented. His girlfriend leaned onto his side, a tear of joy running down.

"And Tania is finally fully happy," she added. The two laced their hands together.

Aviva looked at both happy couples. She felt surprisingly happy.

"You know what? If HE's happy... I guess I can be happy too. And maybe one day... I'll find the same kind of happiness they have." She felt another part of her smile as well. She guessed that it was probably Flora, finally getting over Terra and letting him go.


	3. Episode 04: The Creature Clan

Gavin hummed as he read his new comic book in the park. Ronan was drawing on the pavement with chalk and Aidan was with him. The little brother looked at his older sibling and ran up to him.

"Whatcha reading, bro?" he asked innocently. Gavin glanced up from the comic.

"It's a cool comic with the Wild Kratts as these superheroes. Well, they look like them actually," he told him excitedly. "I got it from that enchanted bookstore Tanya got that book of horror stories."

"Wow… who's the creepy guy on the cover?"

"Power-mad inventor Zach Varmitech suffered a terrible accident during his new invention's building. The accident fused him and his invention, making him totally insane!"

"You mean _more_ insane?" Ronan asked, making them both laugh.

Aidan, curious of why they're laughing, came over to them.

"Yep! Definitely more insane than he usually is! And to stop him, a team of of superheroes called the Creature Clan - who look like the Wild Kratts - rose up to fight."

"What's this about the Wild Kratts?" their friend asked.

"Come on! I'll tell you everything," Gavin said.

* * *

Meanwhile, the team was working hard to clean everything in the Tortuga HQ.

Martin's sprigs started twitching. He looked around and noticed a box about to fall of the top floor. Chris was underneath. "Look out below!" he warned. The brunette looked up just as the box fell. Quickly activating his medallion, he summoned a vine that quickly grabbed it in midair.

"Thanks, dude." At that moment, the boys were walking past with their moms following behind.

"Hey, boys," Martin called, getting their attention. They waved and ran over to them.

"Hey, Martin!" Gavin greeted cheerfully. "Check this out! I got it just today!" He showed him the cover of the comic.

""The Creature Clan Episode X: The Shocking Discovery". Sounds interesting. Is that Zach?" He then noticed six people standing in heroic poses near the bottoms of the cover. His eyes widened in shock. "And is that me and the team?"

"Weird, isn't it?" Gavin said. "I got it from-"

"Martin, can you help me here? I can't find my tools!" They heard Aviva's voice.

"We can help her if you want," Gavin asked.

"No sweat it, kids. I'll handle this!"

He activated his medallion and a stream of water moved around the Tortuga. Martin wasn't even looking. The stream split into several "tentacles" and pushed some boxes aside. Underneath them was Aviva's toolbox.

"Thanks."

"Who are those kids with them?" Aidan wondered.

"The Critter Club. They usually don't do much. Just comic relief," Gavin sighed. "Just like me..." He sighed again. "Come on, guys. Let's read it somewhere else. We're just bothering them."

"What? No one said THAT. Come on. You can still help."

"Nah. You all have powers. You can handle it."

"Gavin?" Ronan asked in worry.

The boy started to walk away to outside the Tortuga to read.

"Geez... I never wanted to upset him," Martin said.

"Not your fault. He has been acting like this since some days ago. Mom still doesn't know what's wrong."

Gavin sat near one of the Tortuga's legs and leaned against it. When he turned to the next page...

"Huh?" he exclaimed with wide eyes. The last few pages were blank. "What's going on? Is this invisible ink or something?" He laid a hand on the page. Suddenly, it started glowing.

The Wild Kratts saw the glow and ran to see what was going on.

Gavin started to get sucked into the comic book. "AAAAGH! HELP!"

"Gavin!" Aidan and Ronan yelled, rushing to him and grabbing his hand. He Wild Kratts soon followed and they all pulled. However, the force of the book proved to be more powerful. Everyone was pulled off their feet and into the book. The comic closed.

Laura and Tanya gasped. "Uh-oh!"

* * *

Gavin woke up dizzy. He looked around to see Aidan and Ronan with capes and masks and... hero uniforms? He looked at himself. He was like that as well. And they were on the top of a building!

"Are we in… Krattown?" Aidan looked around.

"Hey! Who gave me these clothes?" Aidan, Gavin and Ronan heard Koki's voice. They turned around and gasped.

"Wow." Ronan's eyes glowed.

"Cheeter! Draconius! Parotiana! Batrina! Slothian! Howlerina!" Gavin recognized respectively Martin, Chris, Aviva, Koki, Jimmy and Mina. They all had animal-like features.

"You're the… Creature Clan!" They all heard a laser beam sound, and looked down to see a bank door has been destroyed... by a half-human and half-zachbot Zach.

"Awww, yeah! Zachtroctus smash!" he laughed maniacally.

"Great. He's here too," Aviva complained.

"No! That's the villain of the series, Zachtroctus!" Gavin explained. The cyborg glared at the nine.

"Oh great! The Creature Clan and their bratty Critter Club!" he groaned. "I'm glad you came to join our party! Zachbots! Destroy them!" A herd of Zachbots came charging out of the bank and flew up to them. The crew instinctively reached for their medallions, but they weren't there!

"Oh no! We don't have our medallions!" Jimmy screamed.

"You don't need them! You're the Creature Clan! You have other powers!" Gavin told them.

"WHEEEEEEEE!" Martin cheered, as he ran really fast. "I was just downtown, and there's a huge punch-and-pie party happening!"

"Wow, he's fast!" Chris gasped.

"Sure he is! He's Cheeter, the cheetah-man. Not only the ears and tail of a cheetah, but he has also the speed and vision!" Gavin explained.

"Uh-oh! Zachbots ahead!" Martin saw, with his cheetah vision, the Zachbots coming at them.

"Aviva! You're Parotiana, the Lady Parotia! You have to spin!"

"What would THAT do?" Aviva questioned in confusion.

"Just trust me!"

"Okay..." Aviva started spinning around, opening her wings. Immediately, a tornado started to form around her.

The team managed to hold their ground while the Zachbots were pulled in.

"Quick, Koki! As Batrina, do an ultra-sonic screech at the twister!"

"I hope you know what will happen!" Koki said worriedly. Taking a deep breath, she screamed, which came out as a high pitched screech. Everyone covered their ears. The Zachbots exploded with the high pitched scream.

But soon the tornado got out of control. "Help! I can't stop! Ayudamé!" Aviva cried.

"Chris! You have to stop her!"

"What? How can _I_ help?" Chris questioned.

"Your tail! Grab her with your draco tail!" Gavin said, as everyone end up in the tornado.

Chris held his draco tail, but it simply wrapped around him.

"This draco tail of mine grabbed me instead!"

"Focus, Chris! You're Draconius, the psychic of the team You got a psychic connection with your tail! Use your mind to control it!"

Chris closed his eyes and concentrated. His tail immediately obeyed him, snatching Aviva and making her stop spinning. They saw they were down the building now.

The now-psychic held his slightly aching head. Martin dashed over to him in the blink of an eye.

"You okay, bro?"

"Yeah, I'm okay."

"Get them!" Zachtroctus ordered. Jimmy shrieked, and while protecting his head with one of his arms, he put a hand in front of him, shooting his long sloth nails in the robots' direction.

He looked back to see... the robots were slow now.

"Wha-... How did I do that?" he asked, looking at his claws.

"That's the power of Slothian! The Slow-Down Claws! They can slow down any attack or enemy for a minute! He can also make his claws grow so long and use them as a weapon!" Gavin said. Instantly, Jimmy's claws grew three feet and thick. With a sudden surge of courage, he charged forward and impaled three Zachbots in one jab.

"Awesome!"

"Uh-oh!" Mina saw more Zachbots coming at them.

But they were easily flung back by Cheeter. "All right!"

Meanwhile, Koki released another screech, which made the slowed robots explode.

"Okay, they can do all these cool things, but what about me?" Mina asked.

"You have The Inner Wolf. A white wolf-like force field appears around you if you get mad," Gavin explained.

"Oh, my..." Mina gulped.

Suddenly, Zachtroctus roared. "That does it!" With a single swing of his robotic arm, he sent Martin and Chris crashing through a window. Mina gasped at that.

"Martin! Chris!" Mina gasped.

"We're fine. Don't worry," Martin said, while he and Chris stood up. Then, he ran around the Zachbots coming at them.

"Sorry to leave so soon, but I have places to do and things to go. Toodaloo!" Zachtroctus escaped with his rocketback.

Chris growled in frustration. He decided to take it out on the approaching Zachbots by constricting them with his tail. They exploded from the tightness. "He got away..."

"But he's not that far from here," Ronan said. "According to the story, he ran back to his HQ, the highest building in the city."

They all looked up and saw their destination.

"Well, that was easy," Martin commented.

"Now, we just have to take him down," Aviva said.

"What about us?" Aidan asked.

"We can't do anything… we're the useless Critter Club," Gavin sighed, secretly wiping a tear.

"Lead the way… then leave it to us," Bite-Size told them.

Martin let Gavin climb onto his back as Chris did for Aidan. Aviva let Ronan ride on her back. Chris climbed up a street lamp with his draco hands and feet. "Hey, Gavin, do these wings work?" the draco hero asked.

"Of course, they're not for fashion," he joked. "In fact, all your suits work like the animals that inspired them."

"Good." With a single leap, he opened his wings and glided two street lamps down. The others followed with Jimmy being held by Koki and Mina actually on all fours like a wolf.

* * *

"The highest building in the city… Varmitech Building," Aidan announced.

"It's as ugly as his real building," Martin insulted.

"Maybe even more," Chris said.

"Okay, Zachtroctus! Surrender or we'll get in!" Koki shouted.

"Yeah right, you overgrown varmints!" his voice came through a speaker. "Zachbots, get them."

Immediately, the door opened to reveal an army of robots. Bigger, badder and even more twisted robots.

"Okay. It's CREATURE TIME!" Chris said.

"Wow, nice catchphrase!" Martin commented.

"Thanks."

"You guys go ahead... we'll just wait here... being useless like always..." Gavin sighed. Aidan and Ronan looked at him, worried.

As everyone, excluding Bite-Size and the kids, fought the robots, the the kids decided to asked Gavin what was wrong.

"Okay, brother, spit it out. What's bugging you?" Ronan demanded. His older brother sighed.

"We're not doing anything. We're just being useless and bothering the others. Just like the Critter Club."

Bite-Size sighed. He SO knew what Gavin meant.

"Gavin, listen to a little brown bat's words," he began. "Sometimes it seems like you're useless, and you're just standing there, not doing anything important. But this doesn't mean that you're REALLY useless. Someday, you'll have the chance of doing something important. After all, like all creatures make a difference in the ecosystem, and all the ecosystems make a difference in our planet...you'll make a difference too someday."

"You mean it, Bites?" He held out his hand for the bat to land on.

"You better believe him," Mina said. "I once felt the same way too. But then, I was able to save my brothers from being Donita's models. Long story. Don't ask."

Soon, Chris was thrown into the wall, followed by the rest of the Creature Clan.

"Ugh..." Aviva rubbed her head. "The tornado didn't work that well..."

"You think?" Koki said sarcastically.

They then heard a familiar, hysterical laugh. The villain exited his headquarters.

"Guess the Creature Clan's features aren't able to stop me this time..." Zachtroctus mocked. "TAKE THEM INSIDE! I have plans for these beasts!"

The Zachbots pulled out these gas cans and sprayed the team. The five coughed at the gas getting into their lungs and they eventually passed out. The children silently gasped as the crew was picked up and heaved inside.

* * *

The kids snuck into the building through the air duct, being followed by the bat.

They knew they were going in the right direction when they heard Zachtroctus laugh. Following the sound, the Critter Club came above the laboratory. The mad inventor had the Creature Clan cuffed to the wall. All five were still unconscious.

The evil scientist was over at a table. He was putting together strange black collars with red Vs on them. Once he finished them, he placed them on the team, but didn't get to Martin and Chris.

Chris woke up dizzily. Once he tried freeing himself from the cuffs, it zapped him, making Zachtroctus turn around.

"Well, so the lizard boy woke up..."

"Zachtroctus, you'll not succeed in your plan!"

"Oh, I believe I will! Those cuffs immobilize any additional powers you have. And once I activate these collars on you and your team, you will become good little animals and be my servants forever! And there'll be nothing you can do about it!"

"He always attempted this," Gavin whispered to Ronan. "It was implied in his comic bio. It's his major objective: to turn the Creature Clan into his slaves."

"But as I can see... you didn't get all of us." Chris smirked at his statement. The villain inspected his prisoners and growled. He glared at him and lean in close. It didn't phase the psychic.

"Where's Howlerina?"

"Like I'll tell you." Suddenly, he felt clamp around his neck. He gasped when looked down and saw the collar. Luckily, it wasn't activated yet.

"Since you're technically the leader of you varmints and one of the strongest, I think I'll put you under my control first."

Once Chris saw the collar, he concentrated his draco tail to secretly break it, not giving Zachtroctus the chance of controlling him. He did it so carefully the villain wouldn't even knew the difference.

"You also forgot some very important members."

"Oh, your little Critter Club? Ha! Don't make me laugh, lizard boy!" Gavin narrowed his eyes at him. Suddenly, he felt something spark in him. He noticed everyone behind him back up a bit.

"Gavin?" Ronan asked unsurely. The elder brother looked at his hands, seeing them glow a bit.

"In this issue... the Critter Club leader discovers the true reason why Cheeter adopted them. The same accident that created Zachtroctus and the Creature Clan... also created the Critter Club."

*flashback, comic-style*

 _"The explosion gave them all special powers, but the Critter Club's powers were dormant. They were caught in the explosion by accident, because Cheeter was suppose to take care of them. He blamed himself for the kids' condition, since the three were orphans. So he decided, now as Cheeter, to love and protect them."_

*end of flashback*

"In this issue... the Critter Club's powers wake up when the..." He gasped. "... when the Critter Club leader thinks they're useless to the team."

Suddenly, Aidan's eyes started glowing a faint yellow. Ronan looked at his own hands, seeing them glow as well. Then, Gavin's started cackling with electricity. He noticed his arms becoming slick and yellow.

"Laugh all you want, Zachtroctus! But the Wild K- Critter Club always comes when we need them! ALWAYS!"

"Oh, what are they gonna do?" Gavin smirked.

"How about electrocute your lights?" he whispered under his breath, putting his hands on the ground of the air vent. Focusing power into them, he sent a shockwave through the vent and wires. Soon, the whole lab was sparking and the lights went out. Zachtroctus shrieked out of fear of the dark, which woke the rest of the Creature Clan up. They looked around all confused and Chris looked up at the ceiling. He caught a faint glow coming from there. He smiled.

"I knew they'd come," he whispered.

"Mina! Get mad!" Aidan told her.

"I can't!" Mina said, trying to activate her powers, while the Critter Club came into the factory.

"Who's there?" Zachtroctus yelled.

Aidan was able to see the villain cowering in the darkness, making him chuckle. He then looked to where their friends were pinned to. He felt something poking out of his arms and was surprised to see feathers growing. Ronan felt around for the cuffs holding the Creature Clan to the wall. He felt fur growing out of his arms and hands and his fingernails growing longer, becoming claws. With one slash, the cuffs broke.

"Nice work, guys!" Martin said. "This cheetah-man is ready to run!" Suddenly, Martin felt something clamp around his neck. "What the?!" Aidan, with his night vision, gasped at seeing a Zachbot placing the last collar on him.

"Well well well, if it isn't the Critter Club," he mocked. "Thought you could save your leaders huh? Well, you're too late! And I think I better make three more collars!"

The mad scientist quickly pressed a button on a remote nearby. The red Vs glowed in the dark, meaning they had activated. Martin and the crew, except for Chris, froze with pained expressions before their started glowing red.

Martin pinned Aidan to the wall. Chris grabbed the remaining Creature Clan, trying to defend the kids. The owl-boy noticed the draco hero's eyes were normal. He was not being controlled like the rest of the team. Taking the opportunity, Aidan whispered something to Chris. He threw him in Zachtroctus's direction, and the owl-boy took the opportunity to snatch the villain's controller and break it with his now developed talons, freeing Martin and the rest of the team. The lights came back on.

"Nice work, kid!"

"WHAT?!" Zachtroctus gasped.

"I found out your plan when I woke up. Then, my draco tail did its thing."

Mina sighed of relief. Gavin facepalmed. She could have done her thing!

"Zachbots! Snatch them! Snatch them all!" Hundreds of Zachbots came charging in.

"Stand back, guys!" Gavin warned, a long, slick yellow tail coming out behind him.

"Sting ray," Martin said in realization. Gavin slammed his open hand on the ground and there came a shockwave, electrocuting the robots. Ronan took the opportunity to slice them with his aardvark claws.

"Mina! Where are you going?" Bite-Size looked back to see Mina walking away.

"You guys seems to have everything under control now. I'm gonna call the authorities… if there are any here."

"But we need you, Mina! You gotta activate your powers!"

"I can't. I don't know... I just can't find a way to get..." She was interrupted by Zachtroctus's mechanical arm coming at her. Bite-Size stood in front, and ended up getting hit instead.

"Bite-Size!" The wolf heroine rushed over to her bat friend.

"I'm okay. Just a hurt wing." But again, she balled her fists, clenched her teeth and glared angrily at the cyborg.

"Okay. That's IT!" Her voice seemed to boom in the lab, making everyone look her way. Gavin smirked.

"Oh boy, now he's done it," he commented.

"I know you're a scary, mean villain, but you hurt an innocent, cute little brown bat?! REALLY?! Well you're just a great, big, monster!" Her eyes started glowing white. "What makes you think you're so special?!" She floated up to him. "Why don't you pick on somebody your own size?!"

A white glow surrounded her. Once she was inside her wolf-shaped forcefield, she howled of fury and charged against Zachtroctus and his Zachbots, making the villain bump into some wires and fall. His electric part started to short-circuit.

While she crushed the Zachbots around her, Gavin whispered to Chris a way to make her stop, while the team watched in awe.

"There, there, girl... calm down..." Chris caressed her with his draco tail. She stopped, looking at him. The wolf-like forcefield disappeared, making her fall into Chris' arms. "Remind to never get on your bad side," he said, as she embraced him.

"Sorry," she said not so seriously as she chuckled.

"NO! My Zachbots! My body! My plan!" Zachtroctus cried out. Martin grabbed some unused wire and wrapped them around the villain, making him unable to move. The team cheered in victory.

"Nice work, guys!" Gavin said.

"And nice work to you too, kids. Especially you, Gavin," Martin said, kneeling down to his level.

"Actually, in the comic, it's Eleray," he stated matter-of-factly. "And then there's Owlex and Aardvin." He pointed to Aidan and Ronan respectively. The three came up to him, giving him pats on the back.

"Way to go, bro!" Ronan cheered.

"See? We weren't useless after all," Aidan said. The sting ray hybrid smiled.

Suddenly, a portal opened to them.

* * *

Laura and Tanya, who were reading the comic book, worried about their friends and family, let go of it once it started glowing.

Then, one by one, everyone was expelled from the book. The blank pages now showed the events in Varmitech Building. The comic then closed by itself. Both moms came over to them.

"Oh my goodness!" Tanya exclaimed.

"Are you all okay?" Laura asked. The team and boys looked at each other to see them back to normal.

"Y-yeah, we're okay," Gavin assured her with a smile. "More than okay."

"Gavin, I haven't seen you smile like that for days."

"What happened in there?" Tanya questioned.

"Let's just say that Gavin here faced a complex… and he's feeling better now." Martin rubbed the boy's hair. In response to that, he embraced the Kratt in blue.

"This bookstore you visit is cool, Tanya. Guess I'll eventually go back there." Gavin told Tanya.

"It's not only because you don't have something to do at the moment that you're useless," Bite-Size said. "Your friends knew that when they need you, you're just there." He flinched in pain about his wing.

"Come on, Brownie Boy. I'll take care of your wing. Would you mind helping me, Gavin?"

"With pleasure!"

Once they left to keep cleaning the Tortuga and take care of Bite-Size, the comic book in Gavin's hand started glowing.

* * *

"Another successful mission, Creature Clan," Draconius said. "And one less worry to Krattown," he said, as he and the _real_ Creature Clan observed the city from a building.


	4. Episode 05: Song of the Siren

It was a sunny day in the Caribbean. The Kratt Bros were preparing to dive.

"Nothing like a dive on a sunny day," Martin said.

"Mina agrees. Look." Chris pointed out to the water. Mina was playing with Click.

"Woo-hoo! Ride'em, cowboy!" she cheered, riding on the dolphin like a horse.

"I think you mean "dolphin-girl", Mina!" Martin commented. The hybrid laughed at that. Something then caught the corner of her eye. When she and the dolphin went in closer, she gasped.

"Guys! There's a girl by those rocks!" she pointed out.

"What?!" her brothers shouted in shock.

"You think she's a castaway?" Martin asked.

"Let's see… hey, she seems wounded." Chris looked through his binoculars. The girl looked young, like teenager young. She had wavy blonde hair and light tanned skin. Most of her outfit was different shades of blue with small, gold beads on the left of her Greek style top. On the right of her waist was a flowy rainbow accessory, held up by two small, overlapping yellow belts. She had a sky blue, flowy skirt like Mina. There were wraps around her shins and she wore no shoes.

"She actually looks fine to me."

"Well, the wraps are questionable. Let's just take her to the Tortuga just in case." The three approached the girl. Martin slipped on a slimy rock.

"Ow!" He had scraped against another rock. It tore through his suit and leaving a nasty scrape on his forearm.

"You all right bro?"

"I'll be okay. Let's just get her to HQ."

* * *

The mysterious girl was laying on the table with a pillow under her head. Aviva checked her over using an x-ray.

"Nope, no injuries," she concluded. "Completely fine. Except maybe a sore throat."

"She must be a heavy sleeper," Koki said. "You said that she didn't even flinch while you took her here?"

"Not the slightest muscle," Martin answered. They didn't notice the girl waking up.

"Well then, let's take care of that scrape on your arm."

"Guys, I think she's waking up," Bite-Size warned. The team stopped and looked. The girl sat up, her blue eyes open. She looked around in confusion.

"Where am I?" she asked no one out of curiosity. Her voice was a little scratchy, but sounded sweet as honey.

"Are you all right?" Aviva asked. The girl snapped her focus on the team. She was about to say something, but Aviva held up her hand. "Wait. Don't answer that. Let's take care of that throat." The mechanic went to the cabinet and pulled out the guest aid kit. She took out a certain container of pills. Koki got a glass of water. They handed the two items to the girl.

"First the pill, then the water," Koki explained. The teen took one pill and plopped it into her mouth before taking a sip of water. She swallowed softly.

"Th-thank you," the girl said. Her voice sounded more clear already.

"You're welcome," Koki said.

"How did I get here?"

"Well, we thought you were hurt when we found you on the beach," Martin told her. "So we took you here to HQ."

"And boy, do you sleep like a log," Mina said. The girl chuckled nervously. "So, what's your name?"

"I'm Serena Serenity Syra."

"Wow. Try saying _that_ ten times fast," Koki commented.

"So Serena, are you a nymph like Mina?" Aviva asked.

"Oh, no. I may look like one, but I'm a siren. I live-"

"SIREN?!" Jimmy screamed, obviously terrified.

"SIREN?!" the Kratt Brothers shrieked. All three boys then fled to the next room. All the girls and Bite-Size looked at the door in confusion. The boys peek from behind the door, earmuffs around their necks.

"Am I under a nightmare spell again?!" Martin yelled.

"You're standing next to one of the most vicious, man-eating mythical creatures on the planet!" Chris added.

"What?! Where did you hear that dumb thing about sirens, guys!?" Mina asked them, with an angry stare.

"Um, about every mythology book ever published and in _The Odyssey_!"

"*sigh* Some writers are such fat liars..." Luna sighed. "That Homer guy sure knew how to exaggerate in relation to Odysseus's travels. You're completely wrong, Chris."

Serena saw Martin's wounded arm. "Oh... lemme take care of that!"

"AAAGH! Run!" Chris shouted, running with Jimmy while putting their earmuffs on and knocking Martin's earmuffs off his neck. Martin stood there, shivering. He closed his eyes in fear, but then, when he heard her voice... he didn't feel hypnotized at all. She was rubbing his arm and singing, and in less than a minute healed him. Suddenly, he was yanked away by his brother.

"Martin! Speak to me! Are you okay?" Chris asked.

"Actually... yes."

"But-b-but... she was singing and... hypnotizing you and..."

"No... I feel just the same. And way better now." He looked at his arm. As he removed the bandages... it seemed intact.

He looked at Serena, and felt bad about before.

"Hmm... I guess I shouldn't have judged you. Sorry about that. I'm Martin." He extended his hand to her.

Chris grunted loudly and stepped away with Jimmy. She hesitantly held Martin's hand.

"Martin? You're Martin Kratt, the Water Nature Guardian?" Serena asked. "Wow."

"You're popular with the water people," Bite-Size said, chuckling. The Water Guardian gave him an unamused look.

"You know... taking a better look at ya, you kinda look like my girlfriend back home," Martin told Serena.

"She must be really lucky. I mean, dating a Nature Guardian..." Serena chuckled. "And a cute one at that..." Martin noticed her cheeks getting a little pink. "I actually heard you saved Poseidon's trident."

"Yeah… almost got trapped in his temple forever."

"Hmmm… well, one boy down," Aviva started.

"Two to go," Koki finished.

"Forget it!" Chris snapped. "If there's one creature I've NEVER liked, and never WILL like, it's a SIREN!" he concluded, crossing their arms.

"Ditto!" JZ agreed, grunting.

The boys then noticed Serena coming up to them and they immediately put the earmuffs over their ears.

"Don't give a bother, Serena. Like me with bats and Viva with crocs, this will take a while," Koki said. Serena sighed before plopping into Jimmy's chair. The redhead growled in protest. Then, the siren noticed something on his station's screen. It caught her interest.

"Don't touch my game!" the gamer shouted, standing in front of her.

She made a sad puppy face. "S-sorry…"

"Wait... are you... crying?" Jimmy's anger disappeared once he saw a tear forming on Serena's face.

"I... I just wanted to know. I've never seen so much technology in my life. I'm just curious. It's part of true siren behavior. That's why my ancestors wanted to see Odysseus's ship closer.

" _They were fascinated by it. But they wouldn't come close enough. We sirens don't go into deep water. So they thought singing nicely would get their interest and check them out. But he just didn't have the time at all to meet them. He just wanted to get home to Ithaca as soon as he could."_

The redhead didn't know what to do when the girl started to cry a bit. "Why did that stupid, blind author have to write such a lie about us? It's not fair."

Jimmy felt his heart hurt. "Wow… I'm sorry… I didn't mean to..." Jimmy gulped, finally taking off his earmuffs and laying them on the center table. Koki smiled at her boyfriend's wise decision. "I had no idea about your people's side of the story. Until now… you know what? No more hate from me, okay?" The teen smiled.

"Okay." The gamer smiled that their guest forgives him. Chris just glared at the scene.

"So Serena, do you want to learn how to play this?" He pointed to the game on the screen.

"I'm outta here. Let me know when she's gone," Chris ignorantly said, leaving the room as Jimmy was showing his new friend how to play.

"Chris, I don't believe this! You're the one who keeps telling us that there are more than meets the eye to creatures! So why can't you forget about that stupid old book and give Serena a chance?!" Koki questioned loudly.

"Guess he didn't listen to you..." Martin said.

* * *

At the Varmitech Mansion, there were piles of destroyed Zachbots, caused by one thing. Zach's singing. He growled when the last of his audience blew up. Again.

"Why can't any of you listen to me sing a whole song?!" he complained. The villain took out a remote. He hit rewind and listened to himself. Zach shivered and covered his ears before hitting pause. "Now I know why. Never knew I sounded so terrible." The inventor began thinking. "Close to me, Gourmand is unbelievable. How can I make myself better in the shortest amount of time?"

" _SIREN?!"_ he heard Jimmy through his spy bots.

 _"SIREN?!"_ the Kratt Bros screamed. That made the lightbulb blink on.

"Of course! A siren! Who sings better than a siren? And they're one the most carnivorous mythical monsters known to man. With a voice so sweet, it hypnotizes even the most strong willed of people! The perfect varmint for me! Zachbot troop #66, get the blimp ready! We're heading to the Caribbean."

* * *

Chris scanned the siren chapter of the famous _Odyssey_. He kept reading it over and over.

"It says here in the chapter: Circe warned Odysseus about the dangers he would probably face…. one of them being the Sirens, that with their song, could attract men to their deaths."

Then, he thought about that thing with Martin. "She _did_ sing… but Martin wasn't affected, even without his earmuffs on. This means… maybe the sirens' song isn't hypnotizing… and she DID healed Martin with the help of it..."

Slowly, all his upsetness started to fade, as he thought about the incident. Then, he saw the way he acted against Serena again. "W-what if she IS a good person? Did I just… mistreat someone innocent?"

Suddenly he gasped, throwing away his earmuffs and the _Odyssey_. He couldn't believe the things he just did. "Oh my gosh… what have I done?" He felt a huge weight in his conscience.

Suddenly, he heard someone entering. "Chris, we're heading to the beach!" Martin called cheerfully. "Serena's coming with us! Wanna come?"

"No thanks," he responded kind of glum.

"Huh?" His brother started entering.

"I said-"

"No, not _what_ you said. _How_ you said it. Is something wrong?"

"Martin... how could I be such a monster with Serena?" Chris said, showing a few tears to his brother.

"Well, no one blames you, Chris. Jimmy and I also thought sirens were monsters. It's what we were taught. But you're not a monster. And Serena completely understands that you were just going with what you knew. She's not mad."

"Yeah... still... I guess I need some time alone," Chris sighed.

"Um... okay." Martin started to walk out. "We'll still be there when you're feeling better."

"Thanks bro." The blonde sighed before the door closed.

"What happened to me?" Chris sighed, once Martin left. "I've become my father…" He knelt on the floor, sighing.

"He's upset alright," Martin told the crew, once he came down. "Now he's struck with guilt."

"I know the feeling," Koki said.

"Will he be all right?" Serena asked in concern.

"Usually we end up like this..." Aviva said. "But I'm sure he'll get over it. Cause if there's someone as stubborn AND as determined as me, it's him. Not wanting to be modest..."

"We got it, Viva," Martin said. "Well, let's get going. Chris will meet up with us after he calms down." As the crew left, Serena gave a worried glance at the door Chris went through before following the others.

* * *

The waves seemed to move in rhythm to Serena's angelic singing. The team was seated on the rocks, eyes closed while listening in content. After a few minutes, she finished.

"Wow. You sure sound beautiful, Serena," Mina admitted.

"Thanks. Siren singing has its utilities. Thanks to it, we can heal, defend ourselves and even invite different creatures," Serena explained. "But as you know, it didn't work on Odysseus's crew."

"Because he was ignorant and stubborn?" Aviva asked.

"No, he just wanted to go home. I'm sure he would've stopped by if it wasn't for Circe's ignorance."

"Oh, yeah. She's the one who told him about sirens as he and his crew were leaving her island," Mina remembered reading about this in her brother's Odyssey book. "This gave Odysseus the idea of covering the crew's ears with wax. So it was primarily her fault."

"Wax?" Serena asked.

"Yeah. So, actually he wanted to meet the sirens, but the crew only heard what Circe said, and covered their ears to not hear them," Aviva concluded. "Geez, this _Odyssey_ has a lot of mishaps to fix in the sirens chapter."

"No kidding," Serena joked. "And that's coming from an actual siren." The others laughed at that.

However, they were unaware of a moving cloud coming towards them. From inside the blimp, Zach watched them. The camera zoomed in on Serena. "Looks like that's my siren," he said to himself.

As the team continued to laugh, something grabbed Serena, making her shriek. The Zachbot turned off its camouflage before roughly taking her to a tank of greenish water.

"Serena!" Mina shouted. The robot roughly threw the siren in.

"She's gonna-" Jimmy started to panic.

"No, sirens can breathe in water," Martin assured.

"But not in polluted water!" Mina gasped at the water's color. "It must be filled of toxic chemicals!"

"No! But they are special chemicals to get what I want!" Zach said, appearing on a hovercraft.

"Zach! Just what _do_ you want with Serena?" Aviva questioned accusingly.

"I want her lovely singing talent! Her lovely singing capabilities will belong to me!"

"Are you crazy?! You're only after her _voice_?!" Martin yelled angrily.

"Yes, but just her singing voice!"

"You can't take her ability to sing!" Mina said. "She can't survive without singing! A siren dies when she's unable to sing anymore! You'll kill her!"

"And she's just a kid!" Koki added. "You're willing to kill a kid just so you can sing?!"

"Why do you care about such a monster?"

"She's NOT a monster!" Martin snapped. "Now let her go!"

"Make me!" Martin picked up a good sized rock and threw it at the hovercraft. It was a lot of force, causing the rock to puncture the thin metal. It malfunctioned and it fell to the beach. Zach growled as he picked himself up and dusted off the sand.

"Get them Zachbots!" The Zachbots then had the team surrounded. None of them had their medallions and they were too far from Serena. She started to look sick.

* * *

Chris sighed. "Guilt, thy name's Chris." He came out of his room, and looked around the empty Tortuga.

"I simply can't believe I was such a Koki. She was right... why instead of finding the truth, like I always did, I just followed what I thought I knew?" He put a hand on the table, accidentally pressing a button on a Creaturepod left there.

Hearing Serena's singing, he got surprised.

"Wow... she DOES sound divine..." He smiled as he heard her voice. "Oh, my… her signing is marvelous!" Then, he sighed. "If only I could tell this to her now..."

"Bro! We need help out here!" Martin called via Creaturepod.

"With what?" the brunette questioned.

"Ask later, help now!"

"Okay, okay," Chris answered, as Martin moved his Creaturepod to show what was happening. When he saw the injured siren, he gasped. "What happened?"

"Zach attack," Aviva answered. "He captured us and Serena and that water there's not helping her. It's taking her voice."

"She looks really weak..." Mina said, as she observed the siren in the water tank. "Sirens die when they're incapable of singing. We need to get her out of there, or she'll probably…"

"Don't say it. Oh, no..." Chris interrupted Mina, feeling his heart even more heavy. He looked at Serena. It looked like she was… dying. "We can't let him do this with her marvelous voice!"

Aviva gasped. "You said… marvelous?"

"Yeah... now I finally see the truth." Chris looked at Serena. "She's just... a poor little girl with amazing talent that needs a home."

"I knew you would get over that book," Koki said. "And I'll say it once more: I know just how you feel," Koki said, remembering again about the Bat in the Brownies events. It was something that simply didn't leave her.

"Okay, I'll help you. It is the least I could do after what happened earlier," Chris said, finally letting go of the _Odyssey_ 's lies. "Try keeping Zach busy. I'm on my way!"

* * *

Chris climbed on his Mantha Rider, and rushed to rescue Serena.

"Geez, you _are_ horrible!" Mina said, as she heard Zach's voice.

"Even with Serena's voice, it won't make a difference," Martin commented.

"Excuse me?!" Zach protested.

With Zach distracted, Chris made his way over to Serena's tank. The brunette stuck his arm in the sick water and managed to pull the siren out.

"Ch-Chris?" Serena called weakly in his arms. Her voice was very quiet.

"Don't worry. I have a plan." Chris winked to Serena. He showed her his Creaturepod, and whispered his idea.

"Whatever, Wild Rats," Zach said. "Who cares about what you think?!"

"Uh... everyone?" Aviva stated.

Then, the crew heard some more beautiful voices singing from behind Zach's blimp.

"Well, more man-eaters! More wonderful voices for me!" he said, as he came down to search for the voices' owners. Chris pushed him to the water once he got close.

"I know that's rude, but you deserved it," the Kratt in green said, with Serena in his arms.

"WHAT?!"

"Nice one, bro!" Martin cheered. "Using the recording function on the Creaturepod."

"And the remix program Jimmy installed." Chris winked. "How do you think I multiplied Serena's marvelous singing?"

"You'll pay for this, Wild Rats!" Varmitech yelled as he left with his Zachbots.

"Let him go," Chris said, with Serena still in his arms. "We have something more important to lead with now." He looked down at the siren. She smiled weakly at him.

"Thank you Chris..." she got out.

"Shh... don't talk. Your voice is really out of shape. And it's my fault you got into that mess in the first place." Holding her on his arms, he and the team headed to the Tortuga. "Don't worry. I'll take care of you. It's the least I can do."

* * *

Days passed in the Tortuga. Chris took all the time he could to help Serena feel better. Most of the times, when the crew was busy with other stuff, he prefered making her company, telling stories and knowing more about sirens.

"Well, from "man eater hater" to "loving siren medic"," Martin said, chuckling, as he observed his little brother bringing Serena a glass of water.

"Serena... once again saying... I'm sorry," he said, as Serena stared at him with a sleepy face. "This time, I was a total Koki. No offense."

Koki made a signal, like saying "got it, it's okay".

"Well... it's part of being human, isn't it?" Serena said, in an understanding tone. Her voice was much better, but still a bit weak.

"Yeah... sure is," Chris said.

"Does it also count continuously apologizing?" she joked. Chris chuckled, and nodded in approval. He gave her a good-night kiss, and she fell asleep smiling.

"Still can't believe she has no one to take care of her..." he thought now, watching the siren sleep in his hammock.

"That's how sirens are," Mina said sadly. "They're born from sea foam, so they don't have parents. And that also explains why they're all girls."

"But she's still a kid. She needs someone to care... but who?" Chris thought. The blonde brother watched from another part of the room. He thought for a moment.

* * *

After a week of pills and rest, Serena was getting ready to return home.

Chris opened the _Odyssey_ in the sirens' chapter. Then, he ripped off the chapter. "No more misunderstandings for me."

"Wanna rewrite it?" The siren had some blank papers and a pen in her hands. Chris laughed.

"Sure thing. And this time, it's the _true_ tale." Serena pulled up a chair as the brunette took the pen and papers and began writing down the girl's side of the story. The others smiled at their now close interaction.

 _Chris (voice-over): "Dear Hermia,_

 _"I learned something valuable from the siren Serena, just like Aviva learned with the crocs and Koki with Bite-Size: Not every creature and/or person's by the book._

 _No matter how much knowledge you have on a creature, sometimes you still don't completely understand it. Which is why you have to get to know them before you make assumptions._

 _I know now how Koki and Aviva felt, and I'm willing now to get better. But if you don't mind, I have to talk with you about Serena later._

 _Earth Guardian,_

 _Chris Kratt"_

* * *

Later, Chris met Hermia in her temple, where he handed her the letter personally.

"Hmmm... I understand your worry, Chris," Hermia said. "Your brother actually told me everything before you even could send me the letter."

"He did?"

"And you don't have to worry anymore. I believe I have found the perfect place for Serena."

She showed a screen for the Earth Guardian. He smiled as he saw Serena swimming to Poseidon's temple, and the Sea God himself receiving her in his arms.

"She'll be happy living with someone as caring as Poseidon."

"Yeah, I know she will," Chris sighed happily.


	5. Episode 06: Back to the Past

The sun was raising on antoher day. Mina suddenly woke up with a strange feeling.

"Guys, wake up," Mina called her big brothers.

"Huh? What's up, Mina?" Martin asked, a bit groggily.

"I'm feeling something. Something weird."

* * *

The Kratt brothers follwed Mina until she stopped in front… of a white vortex?

"What's that?"

"I don't know, but that's the source of this strange energy that woke me up," Mina assured. As she approached the vortex, it started to suck her in. The Kratt Brothers gasped, and tried helping, but Mina ended up falling into the vortex.

"Uh-oh… Tortuga!" Chris called. "We got an emergency!"

* * *

Mina woke up in an apparently desert place. There were ruins all around her.

"H-hello?" She called, a little scared. "Martin? Chris? Anyone?"

She gasped once she saw something moving behind her. Then, as it came close, she saw… it was a deer-like creature… with a canine muzzle?

"Wow… I never saw a creature like this," Mina said. She giggled as the creature licked her face.

"Because they don't exist in your timeline," a voice called her attention. She looked back to see… a teen girl, with a gray dress and braided hair. "Hello. I'm Elsa."

"Oh… hi. I'm..."

"Mina," Elsa said. "I know who you are, and about the Nature Guardians. Me and my brother are actually from where you came from."

"Huh?"

Suddenly, they heard something else moving. The noise scared the deer-like creature away. "I'll explain everything later. For now, let's go!" She grabbed Mina's hand and started to run.

* * *

"According to the readings, this is… a temporal vortex," Aviva said.

"And I thought that since the Time Trampoline broke, we wouldn't have to lead with things like this," Koki said.

"Temporal vortex? Like… a time portal?" Chris asked.

"You think Mina's stuck in the past? Or futurte?" Martin gulped.

"Hm… I don't know for sure. But what I do know is that we need to go after her," Aviva said. "I'll get the Time Trampoline, and use its energy field to maintain the portal open. This way, even the Tortuga will be able to get there."

"I'll start the engines," Jimmy said.

* * *

"We may be safe here for now," Elsa said, as they reached a small fortress. She nkocked a secret code on the door, and someone opened it.

"Sister… thank goodness you're here." A young teenage boy embraced her.

" _Ventus?_ " Mina sked herself.

"Mina, this is my brother and the Neo-Human Resistance leader, David Genosharp."

"Oh..."

"Mina?"

"Yes, bro. It's her. The Guardians' protector from our timeline," Elsa said. "She ended up here through an Anomaly."

"Okay, I'm really confused. How do you guys know about me?" Mina asked. "And what's an Anomaly?"

"Get in, darling. I'll tell you everything you'll need to know," David told her, as four other silhouettes observed them. Suddenly, one of them looked to the horizon.

"Something else appeared," he said. Then, he left to look for whatever appeared. But he didn't noticed that someone was watching him as well, from a monitoring room.

" _Lassen Sie die Armee,_ " the woman that was observing told someone close to her.

* * *

The Tortuga landed on the devastaded place.

"Wow… is this… the future?" Chris gasped.

"No… it can't be..." Martin gulped.

"Only hope it's not." Aviva held the brothers' arms afraid. Koki and Jimmy shivered while embracing.

Suddenly, they saw many shadows moving around them. "What are those things?" Chris summoned his bow, and the other Guardians summoned their weapons as well.

The Guardians gasped as they saw the creatures: they were all a mix-up of creature features. One of them charged agaisnt Martin, but a silhouette charged against the monster, sending it away, and scaring the other creatures.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Um… yeah. Thanks," Martin gulped.

"What were those things? And who are you?" Chris asked.

"Predators." He removed his hood, revealing a young, but tall teen. "And I'm Samuel Jawclaw… Earth Guardian of this destroyed world." He was a little taller than Martin, and had short, blond hair. He appeared to have a shark tail. His eyes were green and his clothes were brown. On his shirt was a small circle that symbolized the Guardians' elements. He showed a glowing gem on his forehead.

"Huh? You're… an Earth Guardian?" Chris asked. "And what about… this Guardian Shield on your chest?"

"I'll tell everything once we reach the fortress, Wild Kratts," he said, surprising the team. "Yes. I know who you are, thanks to our leader. Come on."

* * *

Once in the fortress, the crew happily reunited with Mina and met David and Elsa.

"Okay, now that we're all here, can someone explains me wehat's going on around this place?" Chris asked.

David sighed. "Well, this place actually is an alternate universe: the Earth after an apocalypse.

" _The curiosity of genetic engineering made a turn for the worse, thanks to a rogue scientist, Amelia Cutter._

 _"She created an army of monsters to serve her, and traveled back time to retrieve a powerful weapon: the Crossbow of Pallas._

 _"Once having it, Amelia started to lead her army of predators, and ended up defeating the Nature Guardians of an earlier timeline, stealing the Elemental Gems and the Elemental Crystals as well._

 _"However, that's when everything was over. As she gave these jewels to scientists, and they abuse of its power for bad intuitions, their corruption caused a meltdown around the world._

" _Luckily, a few groups of people survived this apocalypse, but were mutated. These were called Neo-humans, human hybrids with creature DNA in them. Some of these mutants had small fragments of the Elemental Gems embedded in them at birth._

"Like Sam," Chris said. "Can I call you that way?" he asked the Neo-Human, that smiled and nodded in response.

 _"But a certain group of them rebelled against their own leader, and vowed to rule this world. They named themselves Orlocks, and eventually joined Amelia Cutter._

"There are still a few of good Neo-humans... our Resistance. We fight this new generation of Orlocks in name of Mother Nature. Their leader... me, David Genosharp. Adopted son of Hermia… from your timeline."

The Wild Kratts were astonished.

"But how did you end up here?"

"Through that Anomaly you found," David said. "It was the day when we met Amelia for the first time. She succeeded in taking away the Crossbow, and we ended up getting stuck in this universe. Me and my little sister Elsa miss our mother so much. During approximately four years, we tried returning home, but we would need the Crossbow of Pallas for it."

"Well, back in our timeline, I made a Time Trampoline, and I'm currently using it to maintain this… Anomaly open."

"Really?"

"You helped us with our little sister. It's only fair that we help you reuniting with Hermia as well," Koki said.

Suddenly, they heard a shriek from outside. "Elsa?" David gasped, recognizng that scream.

* * *

Once out of the fortress, they saw one of the predators taking Elsa away.

"Help! David!" the crew heard Elsa's distress call.

"No!" David gasped.

"What's this?" Chris picked up a small circular device with a button. Once he pressed it, an holographic image appeared.

"You!" David growled at the sight of his nemesis. "Amelia."

"Hello, _Meine Freunde_ ," she said.

"German and evil... why aren't I surprised?" Chris observed the woman: her dark blonde hair was dyed with black and white tiger stripes. Her eyes were violet, she wore a black dress that barely reached her knees. Her skin was a bit paler than his own. Her slippers were white with black zebra stripes. She also had on a lab coat with cheetah spots.

"Cliché alert!" Martin said.

"What have you done with Elsa, you witch?!" David demanded with rage in his eyes.

"Oh, she will be alright... if you hand yourselves to me," she said. "See you at Red Square, or should I say, Green Square," she said with chuckling, as the device turned off.

"We gotta go after her," Sam said. "Amelia also have my cousins there. Who knows what she's doing with them now?"

"Don't worry, David and Sam. We'll help you free Elsa and Sam's cousins, and get Amelia," Martin assured. "Like Koki said, it's the least we could do."

"Okay, then. Let's go." David led the way.

* * *

The crew looked from behind some bushes, and saw a building, twice as big as David's fortress.

"There it is. Red Square," David pointed out. "Amelia's laboratory and main fortress."

"Wow… looks like it's pretty reinforced." Chris pointed to the guards. "We would need to distract them."

"Not anymore," Mina pointed out to something distracting the guards, flying around them. It was… a mutated creature?

"That's Cassandra, Elsa's pet fruit bat," David recognized the little pet. "She's been mutated by Amelia, but Elsa and I saved her, along with other critters."

"Like that deer with a canine muzzle?" Mina asked.

"You saw Comet?" David asked.

"You name creatures too?" Martin asked.

"Uh, guys, geek out later," Aviva said. "Now that the guards are no longer on the front door, we can get in."

"Mina… please stay here, and protect Sam and his… friends," Martin asked her. "If we need help, we'll call you."

"Okay..." Mina nodded.

"And my "friends" here are actually my brothers and sister." Sam pointed out. They removed their hoods, revealing shards on their foreheads, just like Sam's.

"Current Guardians?"

"Yup," Sam comfirmed Koki's doubt.

"So let's go. There's not time to lose." David led the crew.

* * *

Hermia gasped as she received a letter from Mina.

"What happened, Hermia?" Luna asked.

"My son David… the Guardians found him," Hermia said, with a smile.

"Huh? I have another brother?" Ventus asked. He looked a little taller than the last time the Wild Kratts saw him. His voice seemed to deepen a bit too.

"I adopted David after his parents were taken away by a dragon." Hermia admitted. "After we saw a strange woman stealing the Crossbow of Pallas, he followed her and ended up stuck in a strange place. Where? I didn't know."

"Well, if the Wild Kratts found him, probably they found this weird place too," Ventus pointed out.

* * *

Elsa woke up tied to some kind of table. "Whoa… where am I?"

" _Wilkommen_ , little time nymph," she heard Amelia's voice. "Well, I'll tell you how things work: you tell me how to absorb your brother's powers, or else, I'll take yours."

"No way. You know that I won't ever let you control my big brother's mind, you psycho!" Elsa answered.

The Wild Kratts were close to the room where Elsa was, and they were sure of it from hearing her voice.

"There! In the laboratory!" Sam pointed out. "You guys go ahead. I'll check on my cousins. I heard their voices not far from here."

"Huh?"

"Don't worry, David… I'll reach you later. Promise." He ran to another place, leaving the crew beihnd. The Guardins prepared their weapons, and David pulled out a katana.

"Ooh… nice katana," Chris said.

"Thanks. Had since I started training with mom," David said.

"Well, I guess Mina might be helpful around here now." Martin said, seeing the door was locked with some kind of special lock.

* * *

"Why are you nymphs always so stubborn?" Amelia complained, preparing to absorb her power. Suddenly, something bashed against the metal door. " _Was?_ " she asked.

The crew, plus Mina, stormed into the room. "Let go of my sister, Amelia!" David yelled, pointing his katana at her.

"Well well, the brat of Hermia and his overgrown fish friend, and... _who_ are they?" She pointed to the team.

"The ones who are about to kick your sorry patootie," Koki said.

"Wow, nice one, Koki," Martin complimented.

"Orlocks! Get them!" Amelia pressed a button, calling for her army.

Mina, who started feeling the same she did before, entered the room. Then, she noticed something glowing on Amelia's neck.

"A crystal! That's what I was feeling early this morning: the presence of one of the crystals!" she concluded.

"Here, we call them Elemental Crystals," David explained. "But... I don't think it's one of those."

"How can you be sure?" Mina said. "I'm feeling the same sensation from when I held the Gaia Scepter for the first time. Surely it is one of its crystals."

"Uh, still strapped to a table here!" Elsa interrupted.

"Sorry," Mina and David said, rushing to free her. The Wild Kratts attacked the Orlocks with all their might. Once Elsa was free, she concentrated a little, and soon… she was standing close to Amelia.

"A-ha!" She grabbed the Crossbow. "I got it, bro!"

"How did she..."

"She's a time nymph. Very uncommon kind. Able to teleport and freeze things around her sometimes," David explained. "Nice work, Elsa."

" _Neine!_ " Amelia gasped. Then, she tried attacking Elsa, but she teleported.

"Quick, let's get out of here!" they heard Sam's voice and rushed to meet him. "My cousins went to meet my brothers. They're doing fine."

They all ran as the Red Square started to tremble. "What's going on?" Chris asked.

"Possibly self-destruction," David said. "Typical for Amelia."

"Let's see..." Elsa mumbled, as they went out of the building. "3... 2... 1." The lab blew up in plumes of smoke and crimson.

Then, they saw Amelia riding an Orlock. "Come on!" David said. "Lead the way, and let's get out of here!"

In a short while the team saw the Tortuga HQ and the portal still opened… for now.

" _Rapido_! To the portal! The Time Trampoline can only hold it open for a little longer," Aviva said, seeing the connection tremble.

* * *

Meanwhile, close to the portal, there was Ventus, Hermia and Luna. The Tortuga came out of the Anomaly quickly, with Amelia and Sam holding firmly on it.

"Ugh… okay, offically, this is the worst landing I've ever made," Jimmy commented, once the crew came out of it.

"Mom?" Elsa saw Hermia, and so did David. "Mom!"

"David! Elsa!" Hermai rushed to embrace them. "Oh, my dearest children."

David then looked at Ventus. "Mom… am I looking in a mirror?"

"I was going to say the same thing," the apprentice in white said.

"Uh, Ventus… is it just me or did you grow up a little?" Chris observed.

"It's an energy thing, I guess," Luna said. "Never happened before to any other Guardian."

Then, their chat were interrupted by a voice and a growl. "Sorry to interrupt souch a warm reunion, but I guess you forgot one thing," Amelia sarcastically said.

"You!" Hermia said. "The thief of the Crossbow of Pallas."

"Here it is, mom," Elsa said.

Sam tried knocking Amelia off, but she put her two last predators to attack him. "You made me lose my army, but let's see how you lead with my two best _krieger_!" Mina, seeing the opportunity, pushed her to the ground, and grabbed the Crystal.

"We have one of my scepter's crystals!" Mina cheered.

"Villains..." Jimmy said. "No matter the universe, they have the same vangloriating attitude."

"Cliché alert!" Martin said.

Amelia saw the Guardians preparing to attack, and mounted her Orlock. "You won this battle, but the war's just beginning!" she swore. " _Ich komme wieder!_ "

"And I'll catch you next time!" David replied, "That's a promise!"

"You can count on us for this," Martin said.

When Amelia was far away, she growled. "Those Wild Kratts runied my brilliant plans! The only thing good about creatures of this timeline is that they're great test subjects. Perhaps if I find a way of getting the maximum I can of them, I can form a brand new army and retrieve the Crossbow again… then, after annihilating these Nature Guardians, I'll return to the future and rule as supreme leader!"

Something glowing caught her eye. It was small and white, and shiny. "Hmm, what is this?" She picked it up between two of her fingers. "Huh?" She saw it glow in her hand, and two silhouettes came to her.

" _Awaiting your orders, mein master,_ " one of them said.

She smirked, now having the perfect thing for her plans.

* * *

"Downloading info about Sam's apocalyptic timeline," Elsa said. "We might need it since Amelia and Sam are stuck here."

"Sorry, Sam. We didn't meant to leave you here," Chris said.

"It's okay, Chris. As sure as I am that Amelia will be arrested, I'm sure someday I'll return home or find my place here," Sam said. "Speaking of place, I might as well see what the past has to offer."

"You mean our timeline," Mina said. "But wait… aren't you staying?"

"I have a whole new world to explore now. I wanna see where my feet can take me, until I can return home," Sam said, sure of his words.

"Well, just… take care," David said, before Sam nodded and left.

"I'm happy Hermia let you guys stay," Martin reminded David and Elsa. "I was wondering if you would help me with my sword fighting."

"No problem." David winked at him.

"New members, a new villain… and a portal to another world?" Bite-Size, heard every word Koki said. "Wow, wish I haven't slept all day. And what should we do with the crystal?"

"Let's keep it for now, and once we have all of them, let's ask for Hephaestus to place them again in the scepter," Mina said. "And David, why is this one not one of them exactly?" She held up the shard on the string.

"I just felt that, believe it or not," David said.

"I know why," Luna said. "This crystal belonged to the lost Time Gem."

"Time Gem? Does that mean... there's a _seventh_ Element?" Chris asked in shock.

"Yes. And a virtue representing it: Patience," Luna confirmed. "And David, we're assigning you as its possessor." That really surprised him.

" _Me_?" the teen said, pointing at himself in disbelief.

"I believe in you, David," Hermia assured him. She handed him the recovered crossbow. "And I believe you will need this."

"The Crossbow of Pallas to me? Mom... I can't accept this."

"I know you'll use it for what's right. I trust you."

"He's a Guardian now?" Martin asked. "Guess he'll need a medallion then."

The crew chuckled, as the Tortuga started flying off the forest.


	6. Episode 07: Everybody Ttarks

*BG music: Devo - Through Being Cool*

The crew was enjoying a celebration in the Tortuga. Bite-Size danced with Mina, and for a bat-turned-human, he sure could dance well.

"Hey, guys. What are we celebrating?" Elsa asked, entering the room.

"Something about my arrival to the team," Bites said. "All I know is that the punch is delicious."

"Similar to a birthday party?"

"It's more of an anniversary. But you would expect this kind of thing from our party planner." Bites pointed to Martin. "No one never forgets special dates like him." Then David returned from another room, holding something.

"Hey brothers, who are these two?" he asked. In his hand was a worn down photo. It showed the brothers, though a bit younger with a girl and some kind of yellow and blue creature on a screen.

"This is Allison, but we called her All," Martin explained. "Way before we went to Animal Junction, we met her and formed the Creature Club. And this little friend here is her virtual friend, Ttark."

"Ttark?" Mina asked. "That's a strange name."

"It's technically our last name spelled backwards," Martin assured.

"It was Martin's idea..." Chris remembered. "But the design of him was by All."

*Flashback*

" _All was working on monitoring the place during a thunderstorm. She was researching a strange fossil we found while exploring the treehouse to create Ttark, a computer pet._

 _"Until… the eletric storm hit the treehouse, electrifying the computers. It startled All and made her press a button on her DNA scanner, with the fossil on top of it. And besides the fossil, it scanned a bit of her DNA signature._

" _Wow!" Martin gasped. "That was scary."_

" _Ouch..." All flinched. "I think some of the shock left over got me."_

" _ **Ugh… wow!"**_ _they heard a voice from the computer._ " _ **Where am I? What is this place? How did I get here? And what is this language I'm speaking?"**_ _On the screen was some kind of chimera (a creature that's a mix of different creatures) that was blue, yellow and orange with big black eyes._

 _All just stared in shock, at the image of her pet: from a simple virtual program… he gained his own conscience._

" _All... you're amazing!" Chris said. "More than a pet, you made an A.I!"_

" _Well… the greatest discoveries were mere accidents," All chuckled._

 _ **"A.I? What in the creature world is that?"**_ _the virtual creature asked._ _ **"Last thing I remember is when the ice age hit."**_

 _"The ice age?" Martin gasped. "Oh, dear… he believes he's a real dinosaur," he whispered to All._

 _"No Martin, I think it's the fossil DNA with some kind of genetic memory or something," she whispered back. "He has memories of before his "death"."_

 _"So we brought back an extinct creature?" Chris asked._

" _Guess we can put it that way," All said._

 _ **"Hey, what are you talking about?"**_ _the creature asked._

" _Nothing important, sweetie," All said. "Welcome to the Creature Club. I'm Allison, but you can call me All. These are Martin and Chris Kratt, my friends... uh... I never named you, did I?"_

 _ **"Why? Do I need this "name"?"**_

" _Sure, silly. Everyone needs a name." Martin winked. "Hmm... how about Ttarksaurus?"_

" _Ttark-saurus?" Chris asked._

" _Your name spelled backwards and the "saurus" for dinosaur. I like it," All said. "But, to be short, let's just call you Ttark."_

" _ **Ttark… I like it!"**_ _the chimera cheered. The three humans smiled warmly._

* * *

"Wow... how come you never told us about them?" Aviva asked.

"You never asked." Chris winked. "Besides… we kinda lost contact with her after we started adventuring by ourselves. I admit I miss her."

"Me too," Martin said. "Those were good days..." Suddenly, Koki's station ringed the WK alarm. Koki answered and Katie and Coraline came up.

"Katie? Coraline? What happened?"

"We were playing in the park, and t-then… we saw a blue thing with a yellow belly!" Katie said, totally terrified.

"A yellow-bellied blue thing?" Martin asked.

"It was huge! And it scared everyone. No one dares to leave the clubhouse."

"I bet it was Amelia's idea," David accused.

"Hey, hey David. Not so fast. It must be another creature that the kids are afraid to know better. Like that time with the T-Devils."

"If this creature's huge, and can crush things with its feet, then we do have reason to be scared!" Coraline complained. "Please, you gotta come here!"

"What? I never heard of such an animal," Chris said. "*gasp* Maybe it's a new species!" He started to geek out.

"Oh, boy... here we go again," Aviva sighed.

"Bro, priorities first, geek out later," Martin scolded. "Besides, it's never a new species no matter."

"Okay, okay. Let's go then. Jimmy, start the engines."

"On it!" Jimmy rushed to the cabin.

* * *

The Tortuga reached the park in a short time. All the kids gathered around. The crew listened to their explanations.

"He was gigantic, and had sharp teeth..."

"He could climb trees, and..."

"He was really scary..."

Strange thing was, they were describing different features of the creature. Only one or two say the same trait.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Koki called their attention. "One at a time, please. This way we can't know what kind of creature we're leading with."

"Hmm, for what I could get… I think it's more than one creature," Chris told the team.

"Well, they're all the same color at least," Martin informed.

"Amelia," David suggested. "I insist: it's Amelia, with a new legion of predators."

"Hold your horses, fella," Koki said. "We don't know for sure. I think we should search for clues."

"Let's split up then," Aviva suggested. "If you find anything, call on the Creaturepod. Mina, can you stay with the kids? They're really scared and need some cheering up."

"Okay. Just be careful. If that creature, or those creatures are so dangerous, I don't want you to get hurt."

"I'll stay with Mina," Bite-Size said.

"Jimmy and I will check over there," Koki said.

"I'm going with David," Elsa proclaimed.

"Guess that means we're together bro," Chris announced.

"Okay. Let's do it!"

As everyone split up to search for clues, Bites and Mina stared at the kids.

"Um… so, you guys like music?" He tried getting into a conversation.

* * *

Aviva was searching, until she saw a shadow that gave her the shivers.

Koki and Jimmy saw a strange silhouette in a tree, that quickly disappeared.

Chris and Martin saw something moving, but it escaped their sight, only leaving a footprint. Martin scanned it with his Creaturepod.

"A kangaroo footprint?" he asked in bewilderment. "Guys, we found something."

"We see you," Aviva's voice was heard. Chris and Martin looked up and saw Avia not too far from them, along with the other groups.

"Wow… never realized how not far we were," David said. "But we saw something over here too."

"So did we!" Koki said.

The crew came together.

"I saw something like a monkey, but it was blue and yellow with wings!" Aviva informed.

"The monster we saw was a gorilla with razor sharp teeth and claws!" Jimmy screamed in fear, embracing his girlfriend.

"Ouch... Jimmy..." Koki flinched. "Watch your strength."

"And then there's these kangaroo footprints," Chris pointed out.

"I'm telling you: it's Amelia! Probably capturing critters and experimenting on them. She always does this!"

"I don't know, David," Martin said. "These monsters were all yellow and blue. There's a connection between them or something. Plus, it feels familiar somehow."

"Either that or you're just cowering around!" David scolded. "It's Amelia and that's final!"

"Now, you listen well!" Martin angrily answered him.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Chris separated them. "Leave your catfight for later, guys! We have a crisis here, remember? For now it doesn't matter where those creatures came from, we must find them, pronto!"

"Chris is right. We gotta remain calm," Koki said. Suddenly, they heard screams.

"It's Mina and the kids! They're in trouble!" Martin said.

* * *

Mina screamed in panic, while holding tightly to Bites's shirt. Behind them and the kids, there was a gigantic creature. It had an alligator like body with a big rhino horn, horse ears, jaguar tail, and big red eyes.

"Mina!" Chris called. "Kids!" The crew saw the man sized monster.

"Oooh... I _know_ I've seen this before..." Martin mumbled.

"Where have we...?" The yellow and blue beast looked at them with red eyes. The shades of yellow and blue finally became recognizable.

"Ttark?!" the brothers exclaimed.

"What? That thing is that little dinosaur thing from the picture?" David asked. The creature called Ttark started shapeshifting. He became his usual appearance. The red eyes stayed, however.

"Oh my Muses... It's really Ttark," Chris said. "But how is he here? And the eyes..."

"We'll ask him later," Martin said. "For now, let's..."

"Huh? He's gone!" Chris noticed.

Mina stood up, while signaling to the kids that it was safe for them to come close. David looked down, ashamed. Martin was right all along. It wasn't a mutant monster made by Amelia.

"Um… M-Martin..."

"It's okay, David," Martin assured. "No hard feelings. I understand your fury. If I had to face someone like Amelia, guess I would do the same."David weakly smiled at him.

"But… that's Ttark? You guys said he was nice," Mina said.

"He was. I don't know what happened, or how he's even here," Martin assured.

Then, they heard something coming. Martin called for his sword, just in case.

As it approached them, he prepared to strike.

"H-hey! Watch it! I come in peace!" The voice was familiar, although it sounded a little bit mature.

Chris gasped. "A-All?" he called.

"Martin? Chris?" A young woman came out of the bushes. That hair… the eyes… even the smile... "Kratt Brothers!"

"All!" The two brothers hugged their old friend.

"Martin! Chris! It's great to see you guys again!"

"That's All?" David wondered.

"All, we saw Ttark. He was becoming..."

"Different combinations of creatures," All interrupted them. "I know. He's not normally able to do that… but now he is." Her eyes filled with tears. "I should have never listened to that Amelia…"

"Amelia?!"

"You heard of her?"

"Long story, but for now tell us: what exactly did she do to him?"

"Well, let's see..."

* * *

All and Ttark were at the treehouse as they usually were since the Kratt Brothers left.

 _'I kept visiting the Creature Club every single day, keeping it clean and tidy in case of visits._

 _'She came disguised to our treehouse, and said she knew how to make a digital being come to life in the real world. I didn't believe her at first, but I wanted to give Ttark freedom outside his "habitat"._

' _So we went to work, creating a device able to materialize virtual avatars into the real world. It shockingly worked. Ttark became actually alive.'_

* * *

"So _she_ brought Ttark here?"

"Yes. But then, I saw she had her own idea for Ttark and wanted him to be her new creature all along. So she..."

"She brainwashed him..." Martin growled.

"Well, at least we know what happened to him," Chris said. "All we need now is to find a way to restore his previous memories."

"Well, looks like we were both right, David," Martin said. "It WAS Amelia's fault that Ttark ended up that way."

Suddenly, they heard a growl.

"Here he comes!" All saw her dear Ttark once again man size, maybe even bigger, coming right to where they were.

"Holy Nyx!" Martin gasped. The children hid in the thicket again.

"Ttark, please stop!" All called to her friend. "You're not like this!"

The chimera growled, and using its tail, caused the earth to shake.

"All!" Chris rushed to take her out of the way, with a vine.

"Wow… how can you..."

"Long story," Mina assured.

"Sorry Ttark..." Martin made ice shackles form around their friend's wrists and ankles. "But you didn't give me any other choice." Ttark pulled against the restraints. They started cracking.

"Chris!" The brunet nodded, and with the raise of his hand, the shackles were enhanced with quartz. The creature growled as he tugged again. His tail hit the Kratt Brothers, throwing them in a tree's direction.

"Are you ok?" Mina asked, running on her brothers' direction.

"My body, yes… but my pride..." Chris assured.

"Wow! Whatever Amelia did, it made him twice, or even thrice as strong as us," David observed.

"This is all my fault… I should've never let her put her hands on Ttark… he's my best creation… and I love him so much," All lamented. She walked closer. "I have to make him come back."

"All, wait!" Chris called.

All tripped and fell, letting a picture from her pocket escape. She saw the image on it: there were the Kratt Brothers on the beach.

"A picture from the Arribada day… when we saw those little turtle going to the sea..." All said. Her eyes glowed, as she remembered.

* * *

 _The Kratt Brothers observed as the baby turtles went to the sea,as they packed everything to return to the Creature Club._

" _We were carried away about protecting the baby sea turtles, weren't we?" a teenager-nearly adult Chris asked. His hair was a big longer, but still spiky._

" _I guess… well, one thing's sure: nature can take care of them," Martin assured, putting a hand on his brother's shoulder._

* * *

She stood up, and tried showing her brainwashed friend the picture.

"Ttark… don't you remember all those days? And how happy we were?" The brainwashed chimera merely growled, until it looked at the picture.

All's eyes filled with tears. "My little Ttark..." One slipped from her face onto Ttark's finger. "Please… you got to remember..." The tear made his skin fuzz a bit. Flashes of memories came to his mind.

* * *

" _ **Of course not. Only the turtle really knows. Maybe it's chemistry, maybe it's the moon, something they hate, who knows..."**_

* * *

" _ **Blind? Whoever said bats were blind couldn't see anything!"**_

* * *

 _ **"Who are these people? Let me at 'em, let me at 'em! You know, it doesn't matter if you're a tiger, a toucan or a tadpole. Wild animals belong in the wild!"**_

* * *

Ttark let out a roar of pain at the memories. A strange chip fell from his ear. David picked it up and recognized the AC on it.

"So _that's_ how she did it," David concluded. The chimera fell backward from fatigue. Stars were even circling his head.

"Stars while fainted?" Bites pointed out. "Now that's just cartoony."

"Cliché alert!" Martin said.

Ttark slowly reverted to his usual form, which he was as small as a cheetah cub, and All picked him up, stroking his face. The chimera eventually opened his eyes, a little dizzy.

 **"Whoa, what happened?"** Ttark asked, as if nothing had occurred. His eyes were their natural black.

Then, he saw the Kratt Brothers with their clothes ruined, and remembered what happened. " **Oh, no… Kratt Brothers... I'm so sorry, guys."** The chimera started tearing up.

"Shhh… it's okay, Ttark..." All embraced him. "It wasn't your fault. You couldn't help yourself... I'm so happy you're back..."

"All's right. Amelia's unpredictable," David said. "Welcome back, buddy."

"Who are you?" Ttark asked the teen. "And who are they?" The chimera pointed to the team. Aviva, Koki and Jimmy waved to him.

"Well, we sure have a lot to tell you guys," Martin assured. Chris chuckled, inviting them to get into the Tortuga. Bite-Size followed them, waving good-bye to the kids.

* * *

 _David (voice-over): Today the crew met two old friends of the Kratt Brothers, and I had to learn that not always my opinions are the correct ones. You gotta learn to hear others too. No one is always right._

Back at the Creature Club, All finished fixing the place up, with a little help from the team.

" _Incrible_!" Aviva commented. "You made most of the things here?"

"Yep, most of the machinery is what I made," All replied.

"She's a tech wiz," Martin commented.

"Thank you very much for helping me with Ttark," All said. "Fortunately, he's doing fine now. Plus, Amelia's machine isolated him from the Creature Club computers, so he can be permanently here in our world."

" **That's so awesome!"** Ttark expressed his happiness, by jumping and waving his arms.

"And I hope you learn to not speak with strangers like that." Chris winked at her.

"Yeah, I certainly did. Well, you will return to visit, won't you?"

"We sure will. And we'll tell the Wild Kratt Kids about the Creature Club. Guess they would love to see it."

 **"I actually get to hang out with kids? Hooray!"** Ttark cheered. " **But I wonder which form would they like more. Maybe this one..."** He started switching into different animals. Everyone laughed and cheered as they watched.


	7. Episode 08: Of Cats and Wolves

Two days after the Back to the Past adventure, David was still adjusting to his new surroundings and the new people. He had the Time Shard on a string around his neck just for safe keeping.

It was a star-lighted night and he decided to take a walk to get some fresh air.

Suddenly, David heard a howl in the distance, making him go tense.

Then he saw the silhouette of some kind of canine. It howled again, seeing the Tortuga. Before David could get a better look, it ran off.

"What was that?" he asked himself, before returning to the Tortuga.

* * *

The next morning, the team was enjoying some volleyball.

"I'll get it!" Chris said.

"No, it's mine!" Jimmy said. The ball eventually bounced on Jimmy's hand.

"Hey, watch it! I'm not a target!" Bite-Size scolded, as the ball almost hit him. "That's it! I'm going in!" He picked up his medallion, and morphed to his human form. Mina chuckled as she saw him get on the makeshift court.

David was on the sidelines, thinking about that silhouette. He never seen anything like that before.

Well, he had seen canines in the future timeline he had been stuck in for so long, but they were all more evolved than their ancestors.

"What's up, David?" Aviva asked.

"Nothing… it's just that… I guess I saw a wolf last night when I was getting fresh air."

"A wolf? Here in the city? What was it like?"

"I don't know, it ran off before I could get a closer look."

Martin was sent flying when Bite-Size accidentally hit him with the volleyball.

"Whoops, sorry Martin."

"Wow… have you been working out?"

"Since the Creature Clan day," the bat-turned-human chuckled, flexing one of his arms.

"Part of his physiotherapy," Koki commented.

"His what?" Mina asked.

"Physiotherapy is a healthcare profession dedicated to working with people to identify and maximize their ability to move and function throughout their lifespan," Aviva explained. "Ever since Bites got hurt, Koki had been helping him to get better."

"A healthy wing is a nice wing," Bite-Size said.

"Well, right now, it would be "a healthy arm is a nice arm"," Martin pointed out.

"Hey, it's my life," Bites joked. The crew chuckled. "Now, where were we?"

"Rematch!" Martin cheered.

"You're on!" The crew chuckled, as they reunited to see Martin and Bites' rematch, but David still thought about that wolf he saw.

* * *

Later that evening, the team was putting up the volleyball equipment.

"Hey… where's the volleyball?" Bite-Size asked. Suddenly, they heard a sound, and saw the volleyball completely destroyed. Then, David noticed that wolf again, observing them.

"Guys, look." The team looked behind to see...

"Those marks… could that be... Darius?" Mina gulped. The wolf then ran into the woods.

"Guess we'll have trouble," Martin said.

"Darius?" David asked.

"And if Darius is here... that means _she_ is here too!" Chris said excitedly.

"She?" Elsa and David asked in confusion.

"Clarissa's coming back?" Bite-Size asked. "All right!"

"Uh, hello? Who are you talking about?" David questioned.

"Clarissa, our little sister," Chris said. "Well, adopted sister really."

"Wow, how many sisters do you guys have?" David joked.

"Let's see... there's our biological twin sisters, Christine and Susan, our first adopted, Clarissa, and our youngest adopted, Mina." Chris petted Mina on her head.

"And there's also Ven, who is technically and spiritually our brother."

"Technically our little brother, spiritually our big brother."

"How does that make any sense?" David asked in complete confusion.

"Well, Ventus _was_ around for more than 10,000 years," Elsa pointed out.

"Yeah, I know that at least. We studied about him. But how is he your brother in either way?"

"It's a very long story. A bit complicated."

"Well, whatever. Let's just focus on the first doubt. I'll check on that wolf we've seen," David said.

"We'll go with you. If Darius's here… probably we'll be in trouble."

"No. Stay here, in case he returns." David left to search for the wolf.

"Better do what he says… it's impossible to discuss with him," Elsa pointed out.

* * *

The teenager scoped his area carefully. Then he heard rustling in the leaves. A young wolf came out of the green, carrying a box on its back. It couldn't be the same from before.

David saw the wolf as strange. And questioning. It looked like a wolf, but its eyes were... not wolf like at all. More like human… and kinda pretty blue eyes. "Is that a... Neo-human in disguise?" he asked himself.

Lost in thought, he then saw the wolf approaching and sniffing him. It then gave him a questioning look.

"Your scent..." SHE said, making him yelp in surprise and jump back a bit.

"You're... a girl?!"

"Don't panic."

"*sigh* Okay. Who are you?"

"I'll answer you, if you take me to my brothers, the Kratt Brothers."

"What? How are Chris and Martin your brothers?" The wolf just growled. Looked like she didn't have the patience to wait.

"Take me to them. NOW." David gulped at her fury.

"Okay, okay... geez. No need to get all snappy at me."

"Right, sorry, it's just really urgent."

"That's okay," he replied. "But I got my eyes on you, though."

"Well, then let me go ahead."

"What? No, my eyes are ALWAYS in front."

"Mine aren't," she said after she tricked David into going ahead of her so that he can get his 'rear view'. She DEFINITELY liked him.

"Stop that," he said as he blushed.

"No." They joked and chuckled with each other as they walked. Darius saw his rival walking with David, and left to search for someone.

* * *

The human and wolf walked to the area of the Tortuga. David began to contact the brothers immediately.

"Hey guys, we have a guest," he said, "She said she wants to see you." He pointed the camera at the wolf at his side.

"It's Clarissa!"

"Wait, what?" David asked.

"Come inside!"

As they came inside, Clarissa began to glow primrose. David and Elsa watched in shock as the shape of the body changed into a human form. Standing before them and the team now was a teenage girl maybe about David's age. She looked pretty cute to him.

"Clarissa!" Mina cheered, running up to her sister and hugging.

"Hey Mina," Clarissa greeted.

"Great to see you again, Clarissa," Martin said. "We surely weren't expecting another attack from Darius."

"Me neither," Clarissa admitted. "But I'm glad I've reached you. Need a little help."

She showed them the box she has been carrying. Inside of it... was a cat. A female, to be exact.

"Awww..."

"A domestic cat..." Chris said. "Now that's a creature we never talk about."

"She's pregnant. Apparently she'll have her kittens soon," Clarissa said. "Found her abandoned and her paw's wounded."

"What kind of soulless person would do that?"

"Yeah… some people REALLY don't respect life," Martin sighed. "But don't worry, sis. We'll take good care of Snow."

"Snow?"

"Her fur is white, isn't it? It's perfect for her."

"Well... okay then. Snow it is."

"Oh… plus, we saw Darius aroun this place."

"Daruis? Here? But why?"

"Who knows?"

"Uh… guys?" David called their attention. "WHAT IS GOING ON?!" he asked, not getting a clue about what was happening.

"Oh… " Chris brought them the Wild Kratts Diary. "Read the Sister Wolf chapter. All details in it."

* * *

Meanwhile, Darius found Zach's building and was trying to make a deal with him.

"I can help you get to that wolf girl... as long as you leave the Wild Rats with me."

"Don't often trust humans... but I would do anything to get my claws on her," Darius growled, accepting his offer.

"Alpha Darius!" the Lupus, who were around that exact point, heard a voice they hadn't heard in a long time. The two turned around and saw their… previous leader talking with a human? "It has been a long time."

"Max? Paris?"

"You know those two?" Zach questioned.

"They were part of my former pack, until we were defeated by another pack." The two Lupus bowed to him.

"Alpha, we could not help but hear you talk of the Wild Kratts."

"You know them too?"

"Know them? We've been chasing those Kratt Brothers since they were children."

"And I have some business to handle with Faust… that's currently with their younger sister."

"Uh… I'm confused," Zach commented.

"I'll explain everything. For now, let's focus on finding Clarissa," Darius said.

"We will join you, Alpha," Paris said. "Just like old times..."

* * *

"Look how fluffy she is..." Aviva cooed, seeing Snow sleeping.

"Hey... taking a better look at her… she has a Wild Kratts symbol stamped on her fur."

"You're right... but why?"

"Hm... guess Artemis is the best to explain this," Luna said.

"Hm… good idea," Chris said. Conjuring his bow, he put his hand on one of the leaf designs. Artemis immediatly appeared.

"Wow..."

"Learned how to call for gods' aid in our training."

"How can I aid you, Christopher?"

"Well… this domestic cat has the symbol of our team. We wanted to know why."

"Hmmm… possibly this cat is a familar spirit."

"Familiar spirit?" Martin asked.

"In European folklore and folk-belief of the Medieval and Early Modern periods, familiar spirits, sometimes referred to simply as "familiars" or "animal guides", were supernatural entities believed to assist witches and cunning folk in their practice of magic."

"Interesting," Chris said. "But how did she end up hurt?"

"Like we said, some people just don't care," Martin sighed. "It's sad, but it's true."

"Thanks, Artemis," Chris said, as the goddess nodded, before leaving.

"Can we keep her?" Mina asked. "Huh? Huh? Can we?"

"Well… besides Bite-Size, we never really had a pet around here," Jimmy said.

"Bites is not a pet," Koki said. "He's a member of the crew. It's okay with me."

"You can stay as long as you want," Bite-Size cooed, gently caressing Snow in his human form. Snow woke up, purring.

"I'll bring some water for her," Aviva said.

"*yawn* Wow, it has been a long journey to me," Clarissa said. "I need to rest."

"We kept your hammock in our closet." Martin opened the closet, and suddenly, all things dropped from there.

"Where have I seen this before?" Chris asked, with a smile. Martin popped out from the stuff.

"Good old times... oh, there it is!" Martin picked up Clarissa's purple hammock.

"Uh… guys?" Mina pointed out to a corner. Clarissa eventually fell asleep in her wolf form. Martin smiled to her, and covered her with the hammock, like a blanket.

"Well, guess it's time for bed to you too, Mina," Chris said.

Mina was already all set, with her blanket and Ylvis in her arms. "One step ahead, bros." She walked to Clarissa, and snuggled with her.

"Quick, get the camera," Chris whispered. Martin quietly looked through the pile, eventually finding the camera.

"So cute… can't handle it," Martin cooed.

"So going into the Wild Kratts Diary," Chris said, as Martin took a picture of their two sisters.

"Certainly cute..." Aviva said, as she returned with some water for Snow.

David blushed, as he looked at Clarissa. "She is kinda cute..." he thought to himself.

"Hmm?" The two brothers looked his way with questioning stares. The boy teen turned away.

"Oh, great Zeus, did they hear that?" He blushed more and started getting his hammock set up.

* * *

The next day, Koki analyzed Snow. "She looks way better today."

"Actually, looks like she'll give birth sooner or later," Aviva analyzed her.

"Oh, boy! Kittens!" Jimmy said.

"Nothing against her, but I'm more worried now about Darius. He must be planning something really bad," Martin told Clarissa.

"I agree. And so does Faust," Clarissa said. "I still don't know why Darius hates me so much..."

"Maybe it was your ancestor that did something to him before… but it's just a theory," Chris thought for a moment.

"But it's a very right one." Luna entered the HQ. "After a long research about Lupus Phantasma, Athena found something useful." She gave them a scroll. Chris unraveled it. The scroll had pictures of Lupus and a young woman.

"Hey… that woman..." Clarissa observed the picture. Suddenly, something sparked in her mind.

* * *

" _It's for your own good, Faust..." a voice echoed in Clarissa's mind. Suddenly, an image appeared to the Kratt sister._

 _A woman was laying in the ruins of a temple._

" _You and your pack need to survive… please, take her to a safe place..."_

 _The black wolf, with teary eyes, picked the basket and nodded, leaving in a portal._

" _May the gods be with you… my dearest ones..." She closed her eyes, losing the last of her strength._

 _Then, the image of many happy families appeared, and with all of them… there was her._

* * *

Clarissa gasped. She shivered. "B-but… what was that?"

" **That woman… is the Lupus Queen..."** Faust commented. " **A human descendant of the Amazon women that Lupus shown great respect to. Clarissa, you must be the long-lost descendant of hers."**

"Me? Descendant of her?"

"What's going on?" Mina asked.

"Inner chat with Faust. Same thing happens to us with Aqua and Terra," Martin explained.

"But why does Darius hate me… if my mother was so respected by the Lupus?" Clarissa asked.

Chris started to read Athena's research. "According to Athena's research _, it was the middle of the war against Eris. The Lupus were members of the alliance of Artemis, goddess of wild animals._

 _"Until the day one of them decided to follow a new master, being followed by a legion of other Lupus, that were called the Red Mark Pack. The others, called the Shadow Pack, remained with their leader the Lupus Queen, being loyal to her till their last breath."_

" _Eris arrived with her new army, and destroyed the temple. The Queen, who has given birth to a child, wasn't in condition of fighting. Recognizing it was her time, she told her most loyal servant to take her baby daughter to a safe place."_

"And the baby?"

" _She grew up under the care of kind people, being always watched by her protector Lupus. Born without powers, neither her or any of her descendants knew about their past. Generations passed, and during this, the loyal Lupus ended up losing sight of the princess… until the actual days, when the apparently last survivor of the Red Mark Pack found and attacked her newest descendant,_ " Chris finished reading.

"Clarissa! That night she got her wolf powers… Darius knew somehow she was the descendant of the Lupus Queen," Martin thought. "That's why he attacked her and us as well."

"So Faust was the Queen's loyal servent… it wasn't a mere coincidence that we met that night..."

"Wow… nymph sister, wolf princess sister..." Martin held his head. "I really need to re-write our family tree."

"Hold it! So Clarissa's… a princess?!" David exclaimed.

"How long were you listening?" Martin asked. David broke into a blush before looking away.

"Uh... just the part I heard Queen and descendant..." The Kratt Brothers gave him a serious glare. _'Oh great, I'm seeing their big brother mode.'_

"The pack remained on the ruins of the temple, and eventually rebulit the place as a tribute to their beloved mother." Chris saw an image of the temple.

" **My home..."** Faust's voice was heard by Clarissa.

"Yeah, Faust. And obviously, Darius was corrupted by his own madness," Clarissa concluded. "Now I'm more than willing to kick his tail."

"You can count on us… princess." Martin winked at his little sister. She smiled in response, but also rolled her eyes.

"I guess we should investigate the area to see if Darius's around," David suggested.

"Agreed," Clarissa said. "The rest of the gang stay here and keep alert for anything suspicious."

Jimmy, Koki and Aviva nodded, and Martin, Chris, Clarissa, Mina, David and Elsa left to search to investigate.

"I'll leave the wolf suits ready. Just in case," Aviva said.

* * *

After a long time walking around the forest, they ended up finding footsteps.

"Phantom Wolves leave footsteps?" Elsa asked.

"If they can have a physical form, yes," Chris answered. "Let's see where they can take us."

The others nodded in approval. As they followed the footsteps, they ended up seeing they leaded right to Zach Varmitech's residence. And there, in fron of it, was Zach and Darius, and the Lupus brothers.

"Darius… It's him all right," Clarissa growled. "But why is he with Zach?"

"And those two... they're with them as well," Martin, a little spooked.

"You know them? You never told me you were attacked by Lupus before!"

"Because we didn't remember them," Chris explained. "Athena, our guardian, locked our powers and memories of them and the Lupus. We just had them returned a few months ago."

"Oh… any info, Faust?" Clarissa asked her Lupus spirit. After a short moment, she looked at her brothers.

"So..." Mina asked.

"He told me Darius was previously a leader of his pack."

"Whoa. He was the alpha?" David asked.

"The former, yes. The legend is true: Darius sought help from Eris and ended up founding a pack of his own. Maximillian and Paris were part of his pack, but after Eris' defeat, the Red Mark Pack ended up defeated by the Shadow Pack."

"Probably he's asking help from Zach… for his past self being so close to Eris as well," Chris remembered what they've learned about Chaos before.

"So you lead me to the Tortuga for me to steal Aviva's inventions, and I'll lead you to the Rat Brothers and that pesky wolf sister of them." Zach agreed.

The Kratt brothers gasped. "They ARE on an alliance!"

"You heard that?" Paris lift one of his ears.

"Uh-oh. They heard us," Elsa gasped.

"Let's get outta here," Chris said. Max and Paris ended up seeing their silhouettes.

"There they go. Probably they'll lead us right to the Tortuga."

"Then lead the way. Zachbots, let's go!" Zach ordered.

* * *

The group ended up reaching the Tortuga.

"We found Darius. He's..." Chris was saying until he saw the gang was focused on Snow.

"Guys! She's about to give birth!" Koki said.

"What? Now? But Zach's on his way with Darius and the Lupus!" Martin said.

"Oh, no! On her current state, Snow won't be able to defend herself! We need to protect her!" Jimmy said.

"And my inventions too, if Zach's coming," Aviva pointed out.

"Okay, I have a plan: you guys take Snow to the Invention Garage, and we'll lead with Zach and the Lupus," Chris said.

"Okay." Koki nodded, picking the box, and hurrying with Jimmy and Aviva to the garage.

"Oh, boys, the wolf power suits are on the desk. I sensed you would need them," Aviva pointed out, before rushing to reach Koki. The Kratt brothers nodded in approval.

* * *

By that moment, Zach and the Lupus were already reaching the Tortuga.

"Here we are," Zach said. "Now let's reach for the Garage. Probably Ms. Smarty Pants haven't activated the alarms yet, if all lights are on."

Suddenly, they heard three howls.

"What was that?" Paris looked around. Martin, Chris and Clarrisa stepped forward, the brothers with their wolf powers, and her in her wolf form.

"I'll get Darius and those other two. You guys get Zach and his robots!" Clarissa said.

*BG music: Blur - Song 2*

"Oh, boy. How I missed solving problems with our Creature Powr Suits!" Martin admitted, as he knocked over a Zachbot.

"Same here, bro," Chris affirmed.

Darius and Clarissa bit each other and struggled furiously. The Lupus also attacked, making it harder for her to attack. The Kratt Borthers saw their sister needed them, so they pushed the broken Zachbots into the Lupus brothers' direction

"Uh-oh," Paris gasped. The crushed robots flattened them. Clarissa gave a final attack, knocking Darius down.

"We'll see again, missy," Darius swore, before running away.

"I'll get you next time, you Wild Rats!" Zach said, as he ran way cowardly.

"Woo-hoo!" Martin cheered. "Mission accomplished."

"Guys! Snow gave birth!" Mina shouted via Creaturepod. "Come on!"

* * *

There, with their mother, saying "meow", were four little kittens. Two were white like their mother, except that one had a small black stripe on his forehead, and one had small black spots. The last one had some orange and brown stripes.

"Aww…" Martin cooed.

"A miracle of life..." Chris said.

" _Aye, que lindos_ ," Aviva said.

"Let's see... you're Flakes... and you're Chloe... Pascal... and I'll call you Cappuccino!" Martin said, as he pointed to each one of the kittens.

"Look, they also have WK symbols." Mina pointed out. "Guess these little guys here must be our familiars now."

"Sure a day of cats and wolves," Chris said. "So… I guess you gotta leave now, don't you?"

"You know what? With Darius allied with Zach, maybe I'll have to stick with you for a while." Clarrisa said. "Besides, I really missed you all."

"Yes!" David cheered. The two bros gave him another "big brother mode" stare. "Uh, I mean…"

Clarrisa giggled. "You know? He is kinda cute," she whispered to Mina and Elsa. The time nymph looked at her bro.

"Oh brother," she murmured.

"Elsa Genosharp!" the boy teen scolded in a whisper.

"One thing, David," Martin called him over. David hesitantly walked up. "If you two DO become a thing… be nice to her, would you?" He winked to him. Chris nodded in approval. "We recognize she's not a kid anymore, but..."

"Oh, I see your point. You have my word," David saluted. Clarissa smiled at him.

 _Mina (voice-over): "Dear mom, one more adventure for the Wild Kratts has passed. Clarissa is back… but so is Darius. So she'll end up staying with us for a while… and it appears David MIGHT have a crush on her. *giggle* Also, we've discovered that Clarissa is the lost Princess of the Lupus Phantasma... No wonder Faust chose her…_

 _"Well, we also received our familiars, Snow and her kittens. I sense they'll be really important in the future somehow. But I also sense that's not the last we've seen of Darius._

 _"This was such a long day… like Chris said, a day of cats and wolves. I just can't wait for you to meet Clarissa personally. I'll find a way to do this futurelly. Promise._

 _Dearest daughter and Guardians' protector,_

 _Wilhelmina Kratt_


	8. Episode 09: No Tears for Fears

The team was visiting the Gulf of Mexico. The sun was starting to set.

"They're coming soon, guys. Just a little more..." Martin told them.

"Since the Tortuga Tune-Up adventure, I have never been so excited about seeing sea turtles!" Aviva said.

"Especially when they're BABY sea turtles?" Chris asked excitedly.

"I bet they're so cute!" Mina said.

"We'll take a good look at the baby sea turtles getting to the sea for the first time," Chris said. "Incubation takes about two months. The eggs in one nest hatch together over a very short period of time. When ready, hatchlings tear their shells apart with their snout and dig through the sand. Once they reach the surface, they instinctively head towards the sea. If, as happens on rare occasions, hatching takes place during daylight, only a very small proportion of each hatch succeed, because local opportunistic predators, such as seagulls, gorge on the new sea turtles."

"Wow, that's very sad," Koki commented.

"That's why hatching usually takes place at night," Martin explained. "To avoid predators from eating them."

"Look!" Mina pointed out to a spot in the sand. "Something's moving! Quick, send the flycams, Koki!"

"Okay. Sending flycams to sea turtle nest!" Koki pressed a button on her Creaturepod. Three flycams flew out of the buzz bikes the team used and they dove into the nest.

"They've already hatched!" Martin cheered. Some little heads popped out of the sand.

"Awww…" Aviva said, as the baby turtles climbed up. " _Ay, que lindos_!"

"They're so adorable!" Mina squealed. "What kind are they, brothers?"

"Let's see... a black shell... rigid top... white places..." Chris observed the traits. He gasped in glee. "They're-"

"Leatherback sea turtles!" both brothers exclaimed at the same time.

"There are no turtles in the forest. At least, I never have seen one," the bat admitted.

"They usually live near water, right?" Clarissa asked.

"Sometimes," Martin said. He carefully picked up one of the little turtles, seeing it was heading to the wrong direction. "Welcome to the world, little... um... any name suggestions?"

"Spike?" Mina asked.

"Taken," they all said.

"Jubilee?" Koki suggested.

"Nah."

"Armor?" Clarissa suggested.

"Nah."

" _Hernan_?" Aviva suggested.

"Nah."

"Crunchy?" Jimmy asked.

"Crunchy?" they all asked Jimmy, finding the name strange.

"How about... Martin?" Bite-Size suggested.

"There's already a lion cub named Martin," Aviva pointed out.

"Oh... well, worth a try," the bat said.

They soon heard the sea's sound. The sound of a... "Wave!" they all concluded.

"Your name will be Wave!" Martin agreed. The crew observed the little sea turtle. "And there he goes. Instinctively heading to the sea."

* * *

Meanwhile, a rather familiar boat was approaching the beach. Gourmand's boat!

"Sea critters, come to Gaston!" Gourmand himself chuckled. When he saw the Tortuga, he took out his binoculars. That's when he noticed the baby turtles.

"Oh, I know what my special will be today! Baby turtle soup with their shells as the bowls!" He laughed evilly at that.

* * *

*BG music: The Primitives - Crash*

"Okay, let's follow these little turtles on their first exploration!" Martin said once he got his diving gear on.

"We're with ya, bro!" Chris answered, fully ready with his Manta Rider. Coming with them were Clarissa and Mina. Clarissa wore a primrose wetsuit and Mina wore a pink one.

"Hey! There goes Wave!" Mina pointed out. The little turtle they named was already a couple of feet from the beach.

"Let's go!" With that, the four siblings made their way to the water. Once they were four feet from shore, they took off on their riders. They quickly caught up to their turtle buddy.

"Hey Wave!" Martin greeted. "Thought we could join you as you go out to sea!" The baby turtle looked at them before continuing seaward.

"Let's swim with the baby turtles!" Martin cheered.

"I'll work on the sea turtle suit. I'll upgrade it so it'll also be compatible to different sea turtles," Aviva called on their Creaturepods.

The crew soon was enjoying the sea water around them. Suddenly, Chris saw something coming.

"Whoa! Huge waves! We gotta head back!" Chris and the others hurried to escape the rough water.

"Whew, that was close!" Clarissa exclaimed as they made it to shore.

"Wait, where's Martin?" Aviva asked in concern. The boy teen looked out to sea.

"There he goes! Heading to the ocean!" David said. Martin was caught in a current. The Kratt in green gasped when a wave coming at his bro.

"Martin, look out!" Chris called as a wave came towards him. Martin looked and immediately dived. However, the force of when it crashed caused him to lose grip of his Manta Rider.

"Oh no! My Manta Rider!" He looked around, but didn't see it. Suddenly, another wave came down, causing him to tumble in the water. His helmet slipped off his face. "My helmet!" Needing to breathe, he kicked hard to get above water.

Martin gasped for air when he surfaced. But he didn't have long before another wave crashed down on him, pulling him back under.

"Martin...! Martin...!" he heard the faint voices of his siblings calling. His vision was blurring up. Everything around him began to get dark as he sank, weak from lack of oxygen.

 _'G-guys...'_ he couldn't even think clearly. _'I... I can't...'_ Before he blacked out, he saw the silhouettes of three people on Manta Riders coming his way. His three little siblings were still calling his name.

"Martin...!"

Chris managed to reach him in time and grabbed his wrist. His little sisters helped him get Martin to the surface and back to shore.

"Sweet mother of Hera! Is he okay?" David asked in worry.

"I don't know! He already blacked out when we reached him!" Chris laid Martin on the sand.

Martin started coughing up the water in his lungs once he regained consciousness. Mina and Chris helped him sit up. Once all the water was out, the eldest sibling gasped for air.

"You're okay Martin. You're okay." Once Martin caught his breath, he smiled.

"Thanks bro." Martin got onto his feet, Chris and Mina close in case he fell. "Those waves were rough. But there wasn't even a storm. There's barely any rough water in the gulf."

"Looks like we got a mystery. The Mystery of the Rough Gulf. Let's go." Chris grabbed his Manta Rider and headed to the sea. Martin followed, but when the water reached his ankles, he froze. He gasped at the water and looked out into the gulf. A big wave crashed down. His heart pounded so loud he could hear it.

"Martin?" Mina asked in concern.

"Martin, what's the matter?" Chris questioned, moving back up to shore.

"I... I can't," the Water Guardian murmured while backing up onto the dry sand.

"What?"

"I can't go out there."

"What? But you're the swimming brother. You should be wanting to get out into the water. Come on." Chris grabbed his brother's wrist and started pulling him to the sea. But when Martin saw some waves coming, he panicked.

"No!" He yanked his wrist out of his grasp.

"Wow, he looks like you in the Flight of the Draco adventure. Only not that exaggerated," Koki observed.

"Martin... are you... afraid of the water?" David asked.

"*sigh* You got it right. I think I am a little, teeny, tiny... afraid," Martin said.

Chris sighed. "I know the feeling, bro. If you want... you can wait for us here on the beach. If anything happens, we'll call you."

"Okay." Martin sighed, seeing his brother and the rest of the team leave.

Aviva saw Martin sitting on the sand, and felt bad for him. "And I was going to ask him to test the new improvements to the sea turtle suit. Oh well..."

* * *

"Now to wait for those salty turtles." Gourmand set his ghost net. Little did he know is that the Wild Kratts were close to that place, trying to find a clue to the Mystery of the Rough Gulf.

"The water's really thrashing down there," Elsa said. "I wonder if Uncle Poseidon's ticked off about something. Probably a fight with his brothers again."

"I don't think it's Uncle Poseidon, sis," Mina responded. "He seemed really peaceful last time we saw him."

Gourmand heard their voices. "Huh?" He looked to see they were close to his boat. "Ugh, those Wild Kratt croutons here! They're always keeping me from trying new delicacies!" He thought for a moment. "Hmm… maybe I just need to be smarter then… this time they won't bother me..."

* * *

Martin sighed sadly as he looked out onto the sea. The moon was full and was beginning to rise. The moon's gravity was pulling on the sea, making the tide rise a bit.

"I used to love swimming under the moonlight," he muttered to himself. "But now..." He grunted in sadness, and crossed his arms. "Unbelievable... the swimming Kratt afraid of swimming..."

"It can't be THAT bad now… can it?" Aviva asked, approaching the beach with the M.I.K. and her necklace.

"It is. I can't even step in it without my knees locking up. What kind of Water Guardian is afraid of water?" Martin lamented.

Suddenly, they saw the sand from the empty turtle nest moving. They knelt down for a closer look, and a little black head poked out. Martin and Aviva gasped.

"One last leatherback. Why didn't this one hatch along with its brothers or sisters?" The baby turtle looked at the moon, then the sea. It got out of the sand, but turned around and started to go farther up shore.

"Hey, where are you going?" Martin lightly chuckled as he gently picked up the baby. He turned it so it faced the sea. "Home is that way." The Water Guardian placed the turtle down, but it did the same thing.

"Huh? Come on, little guy. Home is in the other direction," Aviva said. They activated their Animal Comprehension power.

"N-no!" they heard HER say in fright. "B-big! Dawk! Scawy!"

"It's a girl!" Martin noticed. "*gasp* Then Wave's also a girl!" The lone turtle looked up at him.

"Wave?"

"One of your sisters... my friends went with her, not only to investigate something, but also to take a look at the sea turtles' first exploring." Martin's eyes filled up with tears. "I wish I was there... but I can't..."

"Why?"

"I'm... I'm scared. Just like you..." Martin admitted. "They haven't even called yet... and it's way dark. I wonder what happened…"

He then noticed a little white spot on her. The Water Guardian chuckled. "Well, you don't see a leatherback with a spotted tail everyday. And it's so shiny. Like a pearl." He gasped before picking her up again, only this time so she's facing him. "I'll name you Pearl!"

"Peawl?"

"PeaRl. With an R," Martin giggled.

"P-peawl," the baby turtle tried repeating.

"Okay, okay. I'm Martin. Can you say Martin?" he asked her.

"M-maw… tin." The two humans chuckled at her try.

"Okay, close enough."

"Awww… her voice is so cute..." Aviva cooed. "Can I have her help to upgrade the sea turtle suit?"

"Sure," Martin said. "And she'll probably be able to say your name, after all, Aviva don't have an R in it."

"A- Avi- Aviva..." Pearl said.

"Told ya. You have it easy." Aviva giggled.

* * *

"Anything?" David asked.

"Nothing. But we saw Gourmand's boat closer to the shore," Koki said.

"Gourmand?" David asked.

"An enemy of ours. Always trying to cook endangered species," Chris said,

"Wait. Leatherback sea turtles are endangered?" Mina asked.

"Oh, no! They are!" Jimmy said. "According to research, it has been estimated that 11,000 marine turtles are caught in nets every year. Many of them are leatherbacks."

"So Gourmand must be after them too," Chris said. "Let's take a look, just to be sure." The crew nodded and they hurried to Gourmand's boat.

Chris and the crew observed quietly as Gourmand pulled his net up. "Ah-hah! I have my ingredients." He observed the baby sea turtles.

"*gasp* No!" Chris gasped, and Koki shushed him. Then, once he freed the sea turtles into his water tank, he turned around and threw it right in the Wild Kratts 'direction.

"Oh, no!" Mina gasped. "It was a trap."

"Ah-ha! I knew you would come after these little critters somehow!" Gourmand laughed. "Now you can't do anything to stop me!"

But Gourmand didn't notice one of the turtles he forgot to trap inside the water tank escaping. It was Wave. Wave swam as fast as she could back to the beach she was born on.

* * *

"Let's try again," Martin told Pearl. "MaR... tin."

"M-Maw... tin," Pearl tried.

"Help! Help!" Wave called out to the three on the beach. Martin looked out onto the moon shimmering sea and spotted a black dot coming towards them. When it came closer, the Water Guardian recognized it.

"Wave?"

"Human… fwiends… twouble...!" Wave struggled to say something. "Big… human… sistews… cooking!"

"Gourmand!" Martin thought. "Only HE would try to cook poor creatures like this." Suddenly, they heard a seagull call. The little turtles looked up and screamed. Wave started turning back to the water, but Pearl dragged herself to Martin.

"Huh?" Wave waved to her sister.

"Oh, yeah... Wave, Pearl. Pearl, Wave," Martin introduced them both. "Pearl's afraid of getting in the water." The seagull tried swooping down to Wave, but Martin swatted it away. "And you! Get lost!" Frightened, the bird flew away.

Wave stared at her. "Hmm... afwaid? It's fun."

"It's dawk! Too dawk!"

Wave rubbed her head on her little sister's head. "Swimming fun! Come on!" The elder turtle headed for the sea again. Martin nudged Pearl from behind softly to follow.

"Pwease… come."

Martin was going to say no, until he saw the baby turtle's worried stare. He sighed, and smiled at her, following them both. The younger sea creature hesitated before putting a flipper in the water. She stared in amazement before rushing in.

"Wow… fun!" she exclaimed.

Wave giggled. Then she noticed Martin not coming in. "Afwaid too?"

"Well... I didn't used to until earlier today," he confessed.

"Fwying thing scawy. You sent it away," Pearl said.

"Well... you girls needed my help. I couldn't let that bird do harm to you guys. You're my... friends..."

Martin then looked at the sea turtle sisters, remembering those words. He saw the two sea turtles' shells shine blue in the moonlight. Then, his eyes glowed blue as well. He gasped of realization.

"Martin?" Aviva called.

"I gotta save them!"

"Martin, wait! Look!" He looked at the horizon to see no more big waves.

"The waves calmed down? But why?" He noticed that Pearl had poked her head into the sand. Then, she pulled something glowing out with her mouth.

"Pearl, what's that in your mouth?" The little turtle had a small, beautiful blue crystal in her mouth.

"Wough watah," Wave explained. "Gwowing thing… made watah wough." When Pearl dropped the jewel into his hand, he felt a surge of power. His medallion started to glow harshly and the snowflake symbol appeared. His body was covered in a blue light.

"*gasp* _Dios mio_."

* * *

The Wild Kratts stared at Gourmand, trapped into a cage.

"Now, it's time to start boiling some turtles." Gourmand then laughed. Before he could turn on the burner, a huge shadow draped over his boat.

"Huh?" He and the team looked. It looked like a giant tidal wave, but it wasn't moving. And someone was standing on top of it. The person had something like a staff in hand that had rings floating around it. Behind the silhouette was a long cape made of a thin, see through material. Something glittered on the person's forehead.

"What in the world?"

"Is that...?" Clarissa started, recognizing the person's body shape. The figure jumped down from the wave and landed on the boat's deck with one hand of the ground. Upon contact, a small range of the floor was frozen.

"Ice..." Chris murmured. His eyes widened. "It's..." The wave fell down into the water like it was a crumbling statue, unnatural for a normal wave. The moonlight returned, illuminating the figure's features as he stood up. Silver and ice blue garments, navy blue knee high boots, silver elbow length gauntlets, a cape made of what seemed to be frost, a strange silver crown with a blue jewel, blond hair with sky blue stripes, and, a shocking feature, eyes as blue as the sea itself.

"Martin?" Mina gasped.

"Oh my Muses..." Elsa mumbled.

"Oh, if it isn't Blue Berry," Gourmand mused. "Nice little dress up you got there. Not to mention the crown or whatever it is." Martin smirked before giving the staff a twirl.

"Well, I don't call this "dress up" Sea Crown for nothing," he answered, taking the staff in both hands. His voice seemed to have lowered just a tone down.

"Sea Crown?" Mina asked under her breath. That's when she noticed what the jewel was. The nymph gasped. "One of the Elemental Crystals!"

Gaston narrowed his eyes at the blue warrior. Martin only gave a cocky grunt in response. "If you think you can just do a little magic trick and stop me, think again!" The chef threw a dough ball at him, only for it to freeze in midair before dropping to the floor, having been frozen. "What?!"

"Do you know one key thing in dough?" Martin asked. "Water. Anything with it or in it, I can command." Gourmand only growled and charged at him with a dipper. With a smirk still upon his face, the Water Guardian blocked with his staff with ease.

Martin protected against each strike, but backed up and soon went off the edge of the boat with Gourmand still trying to land a blow. The chef didn't realize he was above water until he fell in. The blonde chuckled at that. He was standing on the water again!

His team looked shocked, jaws dropped. Martin was raised to the boat's edge and jumped back on. The staff in his hand glowed before changing into his sword. With one slash, he broke the lock on the cage. Mina instantly rushed out and and glomped him, making them both fall over.

"You came! And you did it!" she cheered. "You were in the water! Well, _on_ the water anyway! And you found one of my scepter's crystals!"

"Thanks to a little help from two very special baby turtles," the Water Guardian said. He made a bit of the water rise, carrying the two turtles. They waved.

"Wave!" Clarissa exclaimed. "And who's the other one?"

"Pearl, her little sister."

"Wave is a girl?!" Chris asked in surprise.

"Yep. And Pearl had hydrophobia like I did, but Wave helped her get over it."

"A sea turtle with hydrophobia?" David questioned. "Now I've heard everything." The crew laughed. However, they failed to see Gourmand climbing back onto his boat. As he charged at Martin, the blonde brother quickly blocked an attack from the chef's meat mallet.

The others backed up, not wanting to be banged in the crossfire. Gaston had him at the edge again, but this time, Martin sat on the edge and let himself fall backwards into the sea.

"Huh?" Gourmand looked over and saw nothing. He took a sniff of the air, but only got sea salt. "But that's not possible." The chef continued looking. The team looked worried. Then, Clarissa noticed a trail of water slithering over to where the baby leatherbacks were being kept.

"Guys! Look!" the Lupus Princess called quietly to them. They were shocked when the water rose and shaped itself into... Martin! He looked over at them and signaled them to be quiet. Silently, his hand of WATER grabbed the handle of the water tank. Silently, he moved to the edge of the boat while opening the tank and letting the babies fall out into the gulf. Then his aquatic body fell apart, dropping the tank for it to make a loud clang.

Gourmand looked over. "What?!" The others held their hands up in innocence. Suddenly, the chef was picked up by the hand shaped water, freaking him out. A stream of water opened the deck doors and the hand tossed him down there before closing it.

"It's getting weird here!" Gourmand gulped from under. "Fine! Keep your turtles! I'm outta here!" He hurried to start the engines underneath, as Martin picked his friends and family up and left the boat. The team was surprised that they were standing on a wave!

Some water came together before it faintly glowed blue and Martin stood before the team. Their jaws dropped again.

"What? Never saw a Water Guardian before?" Martin joked, making the others laugh.

* * *

"Weeee!" Mina exclaimed as the team surfed back to shore. They surprisingly didn't need anything to keep them on top. And none of them were getting wet.

"This is amazing, bro!" Chris commented. Seeing everyone having fun, Martin smiled. Everyone hopped off as it fell onto the shore.

"You're back! What happened?" Aviva asked.

"Aviva, you should have seen Martin!" Chris said. "He was so awesome… so tough… so… brave!"

"Aw, shucks bro," Martin said, blushing a bit as he rubbed his temple.

"By the way, where did you get the staff?" David asked.

"Uh, it sort of came with it."

"It looks familiar…" Elsa murmured.

"You call this form Sea Crown?" Mina asked.

"Yup. Sounded nice to me," Martin admitted. "Why?"

"Nothing. I like it."

"Thank you," Pearl said to the Water Guardian. The Kratt in blue picked both little turtles.

"No, dear. I should thank you both for helping me regain my courage," he replied. "Because _being brave isn't just about ignoring fears, but being there to help those in need, especially your friends_."

"Come hewe," Wave asked. He shrugged and bent his head down. Both sisters gave him a turtle kiss on both his cheeks, making him blush lightly. The team lightly laughed at that.

"Well, looks like you're popular with water creatures too," Bite-Size joked. Martin merely rolled his eyes at that.

"Oh… found this whiwe swimmin'. Keep it, pwease." She reached for something and pulled out the small item. It glistened in the moonlight.

"Awe, a pearl. For me? Thank you." Martin smiled at them. "I'll miss you. Both of you." He nuzzled them with tears in his eyes.

The baby turtles saw their sisters in the water, and once Martin placed them in the sand, they started to leave.

"Bye, Wave! Bye, Pearl!" Aviva said.

"Be safe!" Mina called.

"Living free and in the wild," Chris said.

Martin smiled, staring at the moon as he took the crown off. He glowed blue for a moment before appearing in his wetsuit again.

" _Mawtin Kwatt!"_ Martin seemed to hear Pearl's voice again. He looked out to the sea, but couldn't see them.

" _Watah Guawdian!"_ he heard Wave's voice next. There was no sign of them. " _Yaaay!"_

"Hey bro! We're gonna celebrate! Are you coming?" Chris called. Martin looked towards shore where his brother was waiting. The blonde looked back to the sea.

"That's strange… Oh, well..." He turned around with a smile. "I'm coming, dude." As he walked over, he looked down at the crown and pearl in his hand.


	9. Episode 10: A Blessing in Disguise

It was another calm day for the Wild Kratts. Ventus arrived with Luna, bringing the letters. He really wanted to see his brothers again. Snow, who was taking a nap with her kittens, purred close to the boy.

"Oh… hello."

"Mail, guys!" Bite-Size called. Chris rushed to get the letters, while Aviva came in.

"Please, be a yes… please, be a yes..."

"A yes from who?" Aviva asked. "Or for what? Oh, hi, Ventus." The former Air Guardian waved to her, with a small blush. The brunet finally pulled out an envelope with cursive writing on it and a seashell print on the front.

"YES! Woo-hoo!" Chris embraced Ven, as he jumped in joy.

"Let me guess: Serena will be able to come for the weekend?" Mina asked.

"Serena? That siren we met?" Aviva asked.

"Yes! I invited her for us to share some time as friends. Plus, I'll introduce her to my girlfriend Tania, now that she and Laura are now speaking about sirens in their myth club. This might be the best news ever given to anyone!" he cheered.

"A siren, huh?" Ventus asked. "Been a while since I've seen one."

"As in 10,000 years?" Mina teased, making them both chuckle.

"Guys!" Koki rushed in. "Sorry, so excited to tell you all I couldn't wait." She took a deep breath. "My brother and I are gonna attempt a brother-sister reunion at Aviva's old university."

"Oh, _maravilloso_! I can write to my brother and invite him!" Aviva cheered.

"You have a brother?" Chris asked.

"Oh. I never told anyone that? Yeah, a twin brother actually. _Mi querido hermano_ Antonio Corcovado," Aviva said. "Well, as I was saying, Koki, this is _maravilloso_."

"It's more than _maravilloso_ , it's probably the best news ever!" Koki said.

"Guys! Guys!" JZ rushed in. "There's an awesome game trade convention comin' to town! This probably is the best news ever given after three naps! Can this day get any better?" Chris just looked at the three incredulously.

Little did they know that three people were spying on them.

"Hmmm... so their little siren friend is coming over," Zach said.

"Hmph. I admit I wouldn't believe if it wasn't for that time I was gonna cook swordfish," Gourmand admitted.

"Let's face it. The Kratt Brothers now have some new friends. And one of the most beautiful creatures in the sea might do great as a model. And if she's hungry, I'll make her enter the models' diet," Donita said.

"Hmm... Since we're after the same thing," Zach challenged, "I have a proposition for you all..."

* * *

Later, on the beach, the crew awaited for Serena's arrival. Tania was also there, really curious.

"How do you guys think she'll arrive?" Martin whispered.

"Maybe carried by dolphins," Koki thought.

"Or in a boat," Aviva said.

Surprisingly, a giant wave reached the sand, carrying a glowing white clam in it. Once it opened, there was Serena.

"Guardians." She bowed, making the others bow too. "I'm teasing, guys. We're friends. We don't need to be so formal."

"So you're Serena?" Tania asked. "Why, how lovely you are."

"And you must be Tania. Chris wrote many letters speaking about you," Serena said. "You're as pretty as he described."

"Awe, did he?" Tania asked. "I love her already."

"Told ya you would," Chris said, embracing the teen siren.

"Knowing you, Chris, you probably planned the day for us," Tania said.

"Precisely, darling."

Martin saw Koki, Jimmy and Bite-Size with a basket.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"We're gonna get some fresh fruits from the park. By night, there'll be a meteor shower, and this might be an opportunity to see if our new punch recipe works," Jimmy explained.

"We worked together on it. Hope it's tasty," Koki said.

Donita was watching from the palm trees. "Ooo, she really is beautiful," she commented. "I have my idea!" She ran to get things ready.

" _Au revoir_ ," Gourmand said, leaving Zach behind.

"Do what you want. I have my own plan," Zach chuckled.

* * *

Bite-Size, Jimmy and Koki picked up some berries for the punch.

"Berry punch. Sounds tasty." Bite-Size tasted one of the berries. "If these berries are so delicious..."

"Definately. But it's not only berry punch. There are other fruits to gather for it, and we don't have much time. Would you be a dear and help us gather them?" Koki asked.

"Yeah, Bites. We would appreciate you being a helping hand." Jimmy said.

"Well, I'll be a helping wing, you mean." They both chuckled.

As the trio walked to the park, Tania observed how Chris and Serena played "I Spy".

"I spy… a peregrine falcon flying in the sky."

"I spy a cute yellow butterfly. Oh. *giggle* That just landed on your hair." He looked up and there it was. They laughed a bit, making it fly away.

"Wow, Chris." Tania was impressed and amazed. "It's almost like she's your own daughter."

Chris sighed. "Actually, I wasn't always this nice to her."

"Huh?"

"You know in the _Odyssey_ , where sirens were described as monsters?"

"Oh, yeah, I know. You told me about the Song of the Siren events. Can't believe I forgot about that."

"You would expect me to be more considerate after the way I treated her at first. Let me just say I knew that day what Koki passed through that whole thing with Bites," Chris said.

"Sure can imagine. Hard to believe how people are so inconcerned about knowing others better," Tania said. "I always found every single mythologic creature fascinating. No wonder people back in school called me a nerd."

Chris chuckled. "Well, here we are, girls. I thought a good way to start our day was telling Serena about the frogs from the pond." He pointed out to the frog pond.

"Ooh... delightful!" Serena said. "Never saw such a pond like this, besides the ones I read about in Poseidon's books." She stuck her dainty finger in the water and the tadpoles swam around it.

"Aw, hello, sweeties," she chuckled. "Wait... you seem worried. What's wrong?" she asked.

"Uh-oh." Tania saw some kind of chemical about to reach the frog pond.

"Pollution?" Chris gasped. "This sure wasn't in my plan… but who would do this?"

"Oh, no..." Serena gulped. "Think about the poor frogs that didn't even become frogs yet."

"Or even tadpoles that still weren't born," Tania added.

"Come on. I guess there's something in the Tortuga that might be helpful," Chris said.

"Wait till they see my plan's better..." Zach chukcled from behind a tree.

* * *

Chris rushed to the sky in his peregrin falcon suit. "Are you okay up there?"

"Ugh… a little..." Tania said, as she held on firmly.

"Woo-hoo!" Serena cheered. "I never flew like this before, except when I walk on waves."

"We do something like this too, but we call it surfing," Tania explained, as Chris landed and deactivated.

"It worked once in the Aqua Frog incident, it'll work again here." Chris rushed to the source of the pollution, following the pollution trail.

"Zach! I should have expected this," the Kratt in green growled. "Well, I don't have a giant rock this time, but I have crystal power!"

Concentrating while holding his medallion, he made a giant crystal and placed on top of the polluiton machine, breaking it. Zach growled as he saw his machine getting destroyed. The girls cheered for him.

"Well, Zachary... apparently your plan isn't that bright as you said," Donita mocked.

"And you have something better?"

"Wait to see, darling... wait to see..."

The Kratt in green placed the same solution Aviva used to undo what Zach did in the Aqua Frog day in the water. Immediatly, the polluted water started to get clean again.

"Frog Water Pond is safe," Tania said.

"Thank goodness," Serena said

"Yeah... I'm glad," Chris said. "But... it wasn't in my plan..." he said, with a sad frown. "Well, let's keep going. Next stop, let's head to a picnic in the butterflies' place."

"Oh, I love butterflies. I eventually saw monarchs migrating once," Serena said.

"Wow. We passed through two migrations," Chris said.

"Ooh… you have to tell me about those," Serena said, as they walked to the butterflies' place.

* * *

Koki, Jimmy and Bite-Size saw an apple tree with only one apple left.

"Get that one, Bites. It's the redder one. Perfect for the punch."

"Uh, guys?" the bat asked. "I think there's an owl hole there… and I sure wouldn't like to be owl snack."

"Please, Bites. We REALLY need that apple," JZ pleaded, with puppy eyes.

"Uh… okay." Bite-Size decided to do it.

He simply moved the branch a little and the apple eventually fell into Jimmy's hand. Then, an owl popped out fo the hole, making Bite-Size panic and fly away. He hid under Jimmy's hat.

"Uh… should we had verified if there was someone home before asking him to..."

"Yup."

* * *

Chris, Tania and Serena were having their picnic, while some kids played around, trying to catch some butterflies.

"This place is gorgeous," Tania said. "I remember once I brought Nolan here and a butterfly landed on his nose."

"Awe, that's adorable," Serena commented. Immediately, a butterfly landed on her nose. "Oh. Hello there."

Tania and Chris chuckled, as Chris placed a flower in Serena's hair.

"What the..." Suddenly, he looked around to see the birds and butterflies of the park getting sucked by a powerful gust of wind.

"Uh… Chris..." Tania pointed up. The three of them saw Donita's plane and her vacuum sucking all the butterflies.

"Come to mama, pretty butterflies..." Donita appeared with a white, totally blank poofy dress.

"Who's she?" Serena asked.

"Lady Crazy-Clothes," Chris groaned in annoyance. "Donita Donata."

"Very bad taste for clothes, if you ask me."

"Agreed," Tania replied.

Donita gasped dramatically. "How dare you?"

"Give those butterflies back, Dumbata!" Chris demanded.

"I don't think so. Unless I get the one butterfly that'll look beautiful in anything I make her wear."

"Her?" Donita aimed the vacuum over them.

"NO!" Chris used his crystal power once again to block the vacuum. Donita gulped.

"Uh... did I forget about that particular power?" Dabio was about to answer, until Donita shushed him. "Don't answer that."

The vacuum eventually blew up, releasing the butterflies and sending Donita's plane away.

"My plane!" she ran after her plane, leaving the three behind.

"Sheesh, she's crazier than that Zarmintech guy," the siren commented. The two humans chuckled.

"It's Varmitech, dumb maneater," Zach growled from behind a bush. Donitta reached them.

"Well, yours didn't work either," Gourmand said. "Learn from the master, kids."

"You're no older than us," Zach and Donita muttered.

"Whatever."

Chris sighed. "Well... the day's still not over. Let's head forward."

* * *

It was nearly time for the sunset. Chris took Tania and Serena to see the critters in one of the best spots in the park.

"This is the place where most of the creatures like to hang out. If you pay attention quietly, you'll get to hear the forest sounds when they start," Chris whispered to the girls.

"Oh, wonderful. The least of sounds I hear in Poseidon's temple is the fish swimming around and sometimes the swordfish training," Serena said quietly.

"That's weird… I've been here sometimes, and by now, the little critters should start coming out," Tania pointed out.

"I think we should probably take a look around," Chris said. Serena stopped him, pointing to a net.

"A hunting net? Here?" Tania picked it up.

"Aww... what now?" Chris asked, as he saw nets all around the forest.

"Either someone's trying to catch us, or trying to keep us in," Tania said, as she helped Chris to remove all the nets they could find, before some innocent critter could get trapped.

"Why would someone hunt people?" Serena asked. "That's kinda silly..." As soon as they have removed most of the nets, the critters slowly came out. A squirrel climbed onto Serena's head, making her chuckle.

"Unless they were hunting creatures." Chris's thoughts suddenly went to what Donita said. What butterfly was she talking about? That's when it clicked. "Or hunting _mythical_ creatures!" he gasped.

"You think whoever did this… is planning to go after Serena? But why?" Tania asked.

"And who? Now we have two suspects. Donita was probably after her since she tried to suck her up in that vacuum. Hm… but she usally doesn't use nets. And Zach rather uses cages."

" _Bonjour,_ Green Grape!" Gourmand stepped in front of them.

"Oh, yeah… forgot about Gourd-mand."

"Gourd-mand?"

"That's _Gourmand_ , fish girl!"

"Uh, tecnically I'm not a fish. I'm a-"

"Nevermind." He pressed a button and a net covered the three of them, as he chuckled.

* * *

Bite-Size helped Koki and Jimmy to gather some more fruits. They had bananas, oranges, grapes… the basket was getting heavy, but not for Jimmy.

"Can't we… get… a rest?" Bites asked, as he started to tumble in his flight.

"Just one more thing, and we'll be done, Bites," Jimmy said. "Honey."

They saw a bee hive in the nearest tree. "Fresh honey."

Bite-Size gulped. "Uh… don't bees sting when they're bothered?"

"Bites, come on. It's essential to our recipe."

The bat sighed. "Okay..."

"Uh, JZ, aren't we taking TOO much advantage of Bite-Size?"

"Well, he did said he would be a helping wing."

"Yeah, but those bees are really tough. And I believe Bites wouldn't enjoy to be stung on his furry behind."

Bite-Size's shriek called their attention. The bat passed by them in a hurry, being soon followed by the couple and a bunch of angry bees.

* * *

"I would surely appreciate your vocal chords, kid." Gourmand stared at Serena.

"Wha-wha-what?!" Tania gasped. "You want her vocal chords?! For what?!"

"Tania, he's known for cooking endangered species. Obviously he would want even the vocal chords of a siren for a new horrible delicacy!" Chris growled, glaring at the chef.

"Oh, sorry… just never saw him before..."

"You got it right. I'll only take her vocal chords."

"But a siren dies if she can't sing anymore!" Chris said.

"If that's the case, I get her first!" Donita proclaimed, coming out of her hiding spot.

"No, I do!" Zach came out too. "I was the one that first succeeded in putting my hands on this man eater."

Serena whimpered under these hurtful words. The squirrel in her arms hid under her hair.

" _All_ of you were after Serena?!"

"Actually, we all wanted her, but for different reasons."

"Well, I won! I had my hands on her longer than you two!"

"No way! She will be my top model for my future line of living fashion and that's final!"

"Nu-huh! I discovered her first! So she will be my siren robot!" The three villains continued to argue. The trio just watched, dumbfounded.

"Are you saying you totally ruined this day I planned to spend with two of the people I really love just for a stupid competition?! Really?!" Chris lost his temper, making Tania and Serena back away some, as crystal spikes cut the net they were stuck in.

"Uh… did I mention he had crystal powers?" Donita asked.

"Well, at least there is something to be proud of all this. We ruined Green Grape's perfect day with his friends," Gourmand mocked, not caring about the crystal forming around their feet.

"You didn't ruined anything at all," Serena said, and Tania agreed.

"We didn't?"

"They didn't?" The crystallization stopped.

"Sure spending the day learning about many creatures with you would be relaxing... but honestly, relaxation is the last thing I need," Serena explained.

"Really?" Chris asked.

"Don't get me wrong. I love living with Poseidon, but life there was honestly... getting a little boring. I like a little excitement too."

Chris smiled, and the crystal around them disappeared.

"All these events were unexpected, but solving these problems with you by my side made me recall how lucky I am to have a friend like you," Serena said, as she embraced the Kratt in green. The villains grunted.

"And how lucky I am to have a man like him in my life." Tania kissed him.

"Ew, now that's gross," Zach commented.

"You're just jealous, because you'll never find a girl," Donita mocked.

"Oh, she got you," Gourmand added. Immediately, the three started to argue again. Koki, Bites and JZ eventually stumbled upon them.

"Huh?" The villains looked behind to see… angry bees! The three of them shrieked and ran away from them. Koki, JZ and Bites sighed of relief.

"Okay, okay… no honey," JZ said

"And no more taking advantage of Bites' help as well," Koki said.

"Yeah, you're right… sorry, Bites."

"Nah, don't worry… at least we didn't get stung," Bites said.

"Too bad those troublemakers ruined your brilliant hanging out ideas, Chris. We saw how upset you got about this," Tania said, as she, Chris and Serena stood up.

"What can I say? Sometimes, I don't like when things don't go as planned. But as creature adventurer, I should have known better to always expect the unexpected. But there IS something left to do. Something that this time, surely will go according to my plan," Chris assured.

"Lead the way, Chris," Serena said.

* * *

Night came, and there were the three of them admiring the stars, along with the crew and the kids. The sky was clear, especially for the meteor shower that was about to come. Chris wrote in the Wild Kratts Diary.

 _Chris (voice-over): Sure my day with my two favorite girls didn't go just as I wanted… but one thing Serena and Tania showed me is that with a good friend, even the most unexpected day becomes a great experience. As they say:_ _your worst day could be a blessing in disguise._

Soon, the meteor shower started, impressing all of the crowd.

"Ooh… beautiful!" Serena commented. "And the punch sure is delicious."

"Approved." Jimmy made a check signal on the list of fruits. "I'll send this recipe to Grandma Jimmena later."

"Bites, would you like some more punch?" Tania asked. "Bites?"

Koki hushed them, pointing down.

"Aww... he worked himself to the bone," Serena said, seeing the sleeping bat on her lap.

" _Pobrecito_ ," Aviva said.

"No wonder why. He totally PUNCHED himself to the limit," Martin tried to joke. The crew stared at him. "What? Too soon?" They chuckled. Serena then started singing, to which everyone listened.

* * *

The bad guys kept arguing after they finally escaped from the bees, until they heard a noise.

"Agh! What was that?" Zach shrieked, jumping into Donita's arms.

Then, a shadow passed in the darkness, freaking the three out.

"I'm outta here!" Gourmand ran away with a smoke bomb.

"Do like a pearl and roll!" Donita rushed back to her home after dropping Zach.

"Mommy!" Zach ran back to the safety of his lair. The silhouettes observed them with glowing red eyes.


	10. Episode 11: Predators on the Loose

The Tortuga was calmly gliding over the water of the Atlantic Ocean. The boys and Mina were on one of the flippers.

"Ugh, how can you stand this?" David asked, a bit green in the face.

"Are you… seasick, David?" Mina asked.

"Aw, come on, even Jimmy doesn't get seasick," Martin joked. The teen boy narrowed his eyes.

"Well, I've never rode a shape-shifting turtle ship that can be like a boat before."

"Good thing we left Snow and her kittens with Artemis today," Clarissa pointed out. "I don't think they would appreciate being this close to water."

"Shh!" Martin suddenly said, signaling to stop talking.

"Martin?" Chris questioned in a hushed voice.

"... Dolphins."

"Dolphins?" Chris took out a pair of binoculars. He looked, but there was no sign of any dolphins. "What are you talking about?"

"Maybe YOU'RE getting seasick, dude," David said.

"No, really. There's dolphins right beside us." The nymph looked down into the water.

"Martin, I'm starting to think our last adventure at sea - " Mina began, before a dolphin popped out of the surface in her face. She yelped in surprise and fell back. The Kratt in blue smirked.

"Told ya."

"It's Whistle!" Chris said. The Earth Guardian kneeled down to stroke the dolphin's skin.

"B-but how did you know they were there?" the dirty blond asked in disbelief.

"I… simply heard them talking to each other." The other three's eyes widened.

"What do you mean "you heard them"?"

"Yeah, I couldn't hear a thing," Chris supported.

"No, not actual, physical voices."

"Oh, so you're a mind reader now?" his brother questioned sarcastically.

"I'm serious. This actually happened with Wave and Pearl too back in the No Tears for Fears adventure. Even though I couldn't see them anymore, I could still hear them." Just then, another dolphin came up. Martin stroked its nose. "Hi, Click."

"That's strange," David commented.

"Hmm... if he's saying the truth… maybe we should ask Luna," Mina suggested. Chris nodded, agreeing and finally convinced. Little did they know was that two pairs of glowing red eyes were observing them. One of them closed its eyes.

"Waiting for new orders from the master," one of the silhouettes said.

"New orders received. Receiving new location's coordinates," the other said, opening its eyes.

* * *

In the Appalachian region, the Wild Kratts Kids Gavin, Aidan, Ronan and Nolan were on a camping trip, being followed by their mothers.

"You keep changing your job, Tawny," Laura commented. "Last time I saw you, you were a librarian."

"I just can't find a fix job, Laura," Tania lamented. "It's getting a lot harder to pay the bills back home since Craig died. But I can't tell this to the boys. They'll feel bad for sure."

Little did she know was that Aidan was listening everything.

"Oh, mom… always worrying about us," he sighed, not noticing the silhouettes behind him.

* * *

"Hearing voices?" Luna questioned in bewilderment.

"It happened twice now. I don't know why, but I can hear creatures, even when they don't seem to be speaking. Like now." Martin looked over at where the two baby dolphins still were.

"Click is wondering what is taking us so long. And Whistle has an idea for a game they can play. However, their moms want them to return below the surface. It's time for lunch."

"You're not making that up, are you?" Jimmy asked, a little freaked out. The two dolphins dived down. Both came back with fish in their mouths. "Okay, I'm buying it."

"Hmm..." Luna mulled deeply. "Nature Guardians can understand creatures, but not hear their thoughts. This has never happened before."

"It hasn't?" Aviva asked.

"Indeed not. Martin… when exactly did you start hearing Wave and Pearl's voices?"

"Well… it was after I saved their sisters and the team from Gourmand. And obtained one the Elemental Crystals."

"An Elemental Crystal?"

"It's what David and Elsa call Mina's scepter crystals." Martin took the crown-like headwear off the shelf and showed it to her. The jewel started glowing when it made contact with Martin.

"Oceanus' Sapphire... the Water Element," Luna recognized it.

"With the Crystal, I even achieved a new Nature Guardian form."

"What?" With a nod, the Water Guardian placed the crown on his head. The blue glow of the jewel brightened, making everyone shield their eyes. When it died down, Martin was dressed like a warrior again. Along with the ringed staff, sky blue striped hair and sea blue eyes. "Incredible... never in our history have we've seen anything like this."

"I call it Sea Crown," he informed, his voice lowered like last time.

"Because of the crown thing," Chris explained. "Bro, show her what you can do."

With a nod, Martin ran towards the water. But instead of falling in it, he was walking on it!

"Amazing! Not even Water Guardians before him could do that!" With that, Martin flashed blue and it looked like his body fell apart. Luna started freaking out.

"It's alright, Luna, I'm okay," he chuckled, though it sounded a bit disembodied.

"That's still freaky," Koki commented. Martin "rematerialized" in the water. His head popped out onto the surface.

"I think it's cool." His two dolphin buddies came up to him. "Oh hey, guys. Ready to play." Martin took off his crown, turning back to normal. The Water Guardian laid it down on the fin of the ship. With that, he dove under the water.

"Martin also gained a new Guardian Weapon," Elsa informed. "That staff you saw with him."

"I would suggest this transformation is an additional power due to exposure to the Crystal, but the staff… hmm, better do research in Athena's temple," Luna said. "I'll call you back if I find something that can help."

The owl left through a portal. Then the crew heard ringing from Koki's station.

"I'll get it," David said, rushing to Koki's station as Koki followed. "Wait, which button was it again?"

"Just let me do this," Koki said.

Two familiar faces appeared on the screen.

"Laura? Tania?" Chris asked.

"Huh?" David asked.

"My brothers' girlfriends," Mina explained.

"Guys, we're in the Appalachian region on a camping trip with the boys, and we have a problem. Two weird creatures appeared, grabbed all the kids and left," Tania said. "Here. I took a picture of them. It's a little blurry, but maybe it can help."

"Future Predators?" David gasped, recognizing the silhouettes. "B-but I thought we sent them all back to their timeline."

"Huh?" Laura asked.

"Long story, but for now we have no time to lose. We're coming! Once we get Martin," Koki said.

With a nod, the girls turned off.

* * *

The Tortuga arrived at the camping place in a short time. Once the Kratt Brothers came out of there, the girls rushed to embrace them.

"Thank goodness you're here!" Laura said.

"We're so worried!" Tania said, among tears.

"There, there. Calm down, Tawny," Chris tried to comfort his girlfriend. He rarely called her by that nickname, like Laura did. It was for when things were serious. "We'll find them. I promise. Now, where did they exactly head to?"

"Well… after I took the picture, we saw them retreat to an abandoned part of this place. The only thing there's an old broken camping house."

"Old broken camping house with freaky creatures?" Martin observed. "Cliché alert!" he said, making Laura chuckle a little.

"We'll go there to investigate. You guys stay here. And David… try explaining to them what exactly is going on," Chris said, as he picked his Creature Power Suit and ran after Martin.

David nodded. "Come inside. I'll explain everything you'll need to know."

* * *

"Wow… now I feel like I'm in a horror flick," Martin observed that half of the camping place: there were only broken cabins. " _Big_ cliché alert."

"Look." Chris pointed to something moving. He made a silence signal to his brother, and decided to take a look at that, even though a little tense.

A cat jumped from the broken pieces of wood, making Chris fall on his back.

"Another cliché: a scary noise made by something that's not scary at all," Martin pointed out, as Chris faced him with a stern look.

"Unless it decides to scratch your face. That would hurt."

Then, something else started moving around. Chris and Martin embraced each other, a little afraid. "Cliché, right Martin?" Chris said, trying to reason. Then they heard a growl.

"Uh, scary growls are mostly made by something scary, so..." The growls returned.

"Stand back." Martin activated his Crown Form. But instead of summoning his staff, he brought out his sword. "Come on," he said, pointing to one of the cabins. "Those growls are coming from there."

Chris held tightly to his big brother's cape, shivering. Never has he felt so scared before. Except in the Chris-tal Clear adventure.

* * *

Laura and Tania walked around, worried. It had been a little long since the brothers went to investigate, and they haven't returned yet.

"Tea's ready, girls," Aviva said. "Jimmy's grandma also know how to make good drinks."

"Guaranteed to calm down even the most nervous of people," Jimmy added. "Approved by _moi._ "

"Thanks." Laura picked up her cup, shivering a little. "I'm worried about my little boys, and the guys as well."

"I hope Aidan's doing fine." Little did they notice the silhouettes behind the Tortuga.

"I'm famished," the first one said.

"So let's eat."

* * *

The brothers slowly entered the cabin.

"Hmm… weird. The noises stopped," Martin said. Then, he heard something moving. "There."

"Uh… you first," Chris said. Martin calmed him down, by tapping his shoulder. Then, with a quick attack, he slashed away the broken pieces of wood.

Gavin came out of there, coughing, and carrying Ronan. "M-Martin.."

"Gavin?" Martin gasped, letting go of the sword. "What happened?"

"They… took Aidan and N-Nolan…" Gavin was tumbling. "I tried to stop them… But my fishing net… they broke it… don't let them get mom..."

Martin held Gavin and Ronan closely, as the elder boy fainted. Suddenly, Chris's Creaturepod rang.

"Guys! We have a problem..." Aviva said.

"Better saying two HUGE problems!" Jimmy gulped. Then, something popped through the clothed tent they were in. Jimmy shrieked, and he and Aviva went to separate directions. Then, the communication was interrupted.

"This was a distraction! They returned to the campsite!" Martin concluded, deactivating his Sea Crown form. "We need to return to the Tortuga. Gavin and Ronan must be returned to Laura, and you'll need your Creature Power Suit."

Chris nodded, as he and his brother ran out of there, carrying Gavin and Ronan.

* * *

Once they reached the Tortuga, however, they gasped at the shocking sight of destruction. Most of their machines appeared to be bitten by huge creatures.

"The Createrra!" Martin gasped.

"The buzz bikes!" Chris gulped.

"Even my tools and the screens!" Aviva said, coming out of her hideout. "Gavin and Ronan?" she gasped.

"My sons!" Laura rushed to see them.

"They tried fighting back, but the Predators were stronger."

"Stubborn… just like his mother," Laura sighed, as she helped laying Gavin in the hammock.

"Those Future Predators still have Aidan and Nolan," Tania told them with a heavy heart. "They said something about their master and experiments..."

"Elsa, David, you know these things better than us! Isn't there any weakness they have?" Mina asked.

"Well, they're drawn to sounds, but also attracted to heat. "

"Well, those are helpful," Chris said. "Since the engines were still so hot, they must've thought the Createrra and the buzz bikes were food."

"Yeah," Aviva concurred. "Same thing with the computers."

"So basically," Luna theorized. "They go for anything that's warm."

"Well, that would make me able to fight back with creature power," Aviva stated as she started programming disks based on Cassandra, the mutated fruit bat they met in the future timeline.

"Wait. Future Predator power disks?" Chris asked unsurely.

"Yeah," Aviva said. "I'm using a sample of Cassandra's fur since fruit bats and vampire bats are related to each other. And most of her DNA is fruit bat."

"How..."

"Elsa, somehow, had a sample of Cassie's fur."

"I loved her very much," Elsa said.

"So get the Time Trampoline ready. Tonight, we'll sent these predators back to their home, possibly along with Amelia," David said.

"Uh… okay."

"I guess my Sea Crown might be useful at the moment. But keep my CPS close just in case," Martin assured.

"Sea Crown?" Laura asked. Martin changed into his Crown Form, impressing Laura. "Ooh... Wow..."

"Let's go, Chris. Ready?"

"Ready!" Chris placed the disk, and touched the fur sample. "Activate Future Predator Power!"

"Wow… you look awesome!" Mina observed.

"Yeah, but I also feel a little funny. Like I'm a mix of all kinds of creatures."

"Don't worry about it, bro. Let's go after those two troublemakers!" Martin said.

"To the Children Rescue!" the brothers cheered. Gavin, waking up, saw his "almost-father" going after those creatures, and felt he needed to do something.

* * *

The team moved out in search for the Predators. They finally located them by a rocky hill with a frightened Aidan and Nolan in their custody.

"We have company, _mein master_ ," one of the silhouettes said with his mind. "Awaiting for new orders."

"Martin! Chris!" Aidan cheered. "I'm glad you guys are here."

"Chris Kratt!" Nolan cheered.

*BG music: Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks*

Martin and Chris fought off the Predators bravely, and Aidan and Nolan ran to their mother once they were free from the monster's grip.

But suddenly, Martin kneeled, supporting himself on the weapon.

"Martin!" Chris and Laura rushed to him. "What's wrong?"

"I guess that I can't use this form too many times in a day," he concluded. "I'm exhausted." He ended up returning to normal.

"You used too much energy. Well, more than you can support anyway," Chris said.

"Oh, so the little water Rat can't use his powers?" the Predator mocked. "The master will be pleased to know this."

"Shut up!" Martin shouted. "Maybe I can't use my Sea Crown right now, but I'll not let you escape. You two hurt innocent people for too long!"

"Maybe you'll need this!" Aviva threw him his Creature Power Suit. Martin quickly put it on and activated through the sample.

"Wow, now I know how you feel in this, Chris."

"Exactly. Really weird."

Their chat was interrupted by the two predators clobbering them down. Gavin, who followed them, saw Martin in danger. With a spare fishing pole, the kid hooked one of the Predators, and wrapped the line around him.

"Brothers, one thing about Future Fruit Bats is their squeak, AKA their screech!" David said. With that knowledge, the two took a deep breath and screeched. It came sounding like an amplified bat squeak.

"They're disoriented!" Chris said. "Now's our chance!" He grabbed his medallion and wrapped vines around them.

"Time Trampoline ready!" Aviva warned, landing the Tortuga close to the hill. "Send' em down!"

"Just in time!" Martin said. "Get ready bro!" Aviva brought out the Time Trampoline. "Now!" Chris commanded the vines to throw the beasts in its direction. They bounced off and disappeared through the vortex. The team cheered in victory.

"Mission accomplished!" Martin cheered. "Oh, and thanks, Gavin. Too bad this costed your fishing pole."

"Nah, it's fine. I can get a new one."

* * *

The team and their friends returned to the Tortuga to rest up after the battle. Martin had been told to sit in his hammock to rest. Laura, Tania and the boys also came in.

"Mom… I know everything," Aidan said. "I know you're worried about not being able to pay the bills, but I think I can help you."

"Really?"

"We're searching for a substitute art teacher in our school. And I think you're just the woman for the job. You were once in the decoration business, weren't you?"

"Oh, Aidan… I'm so lucky for having you." Tania embraced her son.

"Too bad Amelia wasn't present. I was so confident we would get her," David lamented.

"Well, we sent her monsters back. If that's not something..." Aviva said.

"Great news, Guardians. I found out what that staff is." Luna arrived with news.

"You did?" Mina asked the owl.

"It's a staff the moon goddess Selene once wielded before it mysteriously disappeared the same time Oceanus the Ocean Deity passed."

"The same time?"

"Yes. This staff had the power to control the tides and flow of the sea. She commonly used it to aid Poseidon when he needs it. It's said that Oceanus aided Hephaestus in crafting the weapon for her."

"He made it for her?" Elsa asked.

"Well, she was his daughter. Or niece."

"Interesting..." Martin thought.

"And what's the matter, Martin? You look like you've slain an army."

"I'm okay. Sea Crown takes a lot out of me after several uses a day. Just need to rest," Martin said.

"Hey, Luna, what exactly happened to the Three Deities?" Chris asked. "Because, if they're gods, they shouldn't be able to die."

"That is a mystery for another time," Luna said.

"Amelia…" David thought. "I don't doubt she was responsible for those two last predators. But how?"

* * *

In a strange hideout, Amelia stood in front of some critters. Immediately, the critters stood up to her.

"I lost two valuable warriors, but this was a perfect distraction, Otto," she spoke to her most trustful Orlock.

"Just a thing, _mein master_ … how are you... you know, controlling them?"

"With this." Around her neck was a small, circular, white object. "They may have taken control of time from me, but this will give me all the time I need. Soon I'll return and get my revenge on those Wild Kratts!" She chuckled evilly, which exceeded into an evil laugh.


	11. Episode 12: Antonio Corcovado

The Tortuga crew reunited early in the morning, being called by Aviva.

*yawn* Hey, Aviva, why callin' us so early? I'm not feeling like a morning bird today," Chris complained.

"Guys, I have great news," she said. "My twin brother Antonio Corcovado is coming to spend a week here in the Tortuga!"

"Oh-ho-ho!" Koki said. "So finally I'm gonna meet him, huh? He was the person you talked more about when we were in college."

"He seems pretty cool," Martin said.

"Of course he is!" Aviva showed them her photo album. "Me and him loved to watch our mother's performances, when she was still working as a singer."

"Your mother was a singer?" Chris asked.

" _Si_. Unlike her, I was afraid of climbing on stage... but I always loved watching her from behind the curtains. And so did my brother." She pointed out to a picture with her mother singing, and her and Antonio peeking from behind the curtains.

"I suppose he's an inventor too," Jimmy wondered.

"If by inventor you mean "genius wax statue designer", then that's the kind of inventor Antonio is. He works in a wax museum, and his constructions are splendid."

Then, she ran to the closet. Picking up a box, she showed them a small wax statue of her.

"He made this for me to wish me luck when I went to the university for the first time. I admit I was nervous... but he gave me confidence."

"Now I'm the one excited about meeting him," Bite-Size squeaked.

"Plus, I have another special spare part I wanna give him. We trade things as a symbolism of our friendship. I give him spare parts, he gives me a wax statue or another spare part."

"Interesting. Makes me remember when me and Martin were separated by the college years," Chris sighed.

"We always sent each other letters, telling the news or simply chatting," Martin chuckled. "And in the last letter I sent before I returned home, I sent him a clay statue I made."

"Loved it really much..." Chris said.

"I'm sure you'll love to meet him! He's fast as Chris when it comes to improvising, really funny as Martin, generous, art appreciator and or course, as smart as I am."

"So, when will he come?" Koki asked.

"Tomorrow, according to his letter," Aviva said.

"Tomorrow?" Jimmy asked. "Oh boy, so we gotta leave everything ready around here today!"

The crew rushed to set things up for their guest.

* * *

The next day, Aviva landed the Tortuga close to the train station.

"Come on, come on, come on!" She started pulling Koki's hand. "He must be really impatient! I hate to leave him waiting."

"Calm down, Aviva! It's not like we're seeing Zeus!" Chris said.

They quickly reached the train station. There, a train arrived, and on it… there was Antonio. He walked to the platform, slowly.

Not being able to see him, Aviva used her Air powers to clean the smoke around.

"Antonio! _Mi hermano_!" Aviva extended her arms to embrace him. He slowly walked to her, and she embraced him jumping.

" _Hola, amigos_. Or in english, hello, fellas," he said in a serious, dull tune.

Koki and the others stared at him surprised. His skin was tanned like Aviva's. His brown hair was short, he weared a dark grey jacket and blue pants. His expression was… well, unexpressive.

"So… you're Antonio? Aviva told me really much about you," Koki tried starting a conversation. "I'm Koki. These are Jimmy, Mina, Bite-Size and..."

"The Kratt Brothers," Antonio recognized Martin and Chris. "I saw you in the newspaper many times."

Chris and Martin stared at each other, surprised and a little confused about his tone.

"Uh… thank you?" Martin asked.

"And you must be Mina. My new adopted sister." Antonio looked at the nymph.

"Yeah, it's me! Love your coat. Aviva told me you love to express yourself. What's this coat saying?"

" _Gracias_ , but it doesn't speak. It's cloth," he dully thanked, leaving Mina with a confused look.

"This is gonna be the best week ever!" Aviva embraced her brother again, while the rest of the team looked at each other confused.

* * *

"Where are the other members?" Antonio asked, as they entered the Tortuga.

"They're out for a while," Aviva said. "They're kinda..."

"In a conference with Hermia, aka Mother Nature?" Antonio asked, surprising them all. "I admit I didn't believe at first when you wrote about your Nature Guardian stories... but the reception I received made me change my mind."

"You know me well, _hermano_ ," Aviva said. "I love proving my point."

"Hope you don't mind me bringing my pet as well," Antonio said, pointing at his pocket.

"You have a pocket pet?" Bite-Size asked. "What kind? A baby bird? A little worm? A bat like me?"

"It's a wax statue." Antonio showed them: it was the statue of a little man with a grumpy face. "I call him Candlejack."

Bite-Size sniffed the wax statue. "Uh… I really like his… face?"

"Thank you. Worked hard on it. Wax statue business is complicated."

"Wow... he's… really not what I expected," Jimmy whispered to Koki.

"Play cool, JZ. For Viva," Koki whispered back.

"What now, bro?" Martin whispered.

"Let's try giving him the benefit of a doubt," Chris whispered back. Then, as the team left, he walked to the twins.

"So, Antonio… have any interesting stories?" Chris tried getting into a conversation.

"Many of them! He loves tales, Chris," Aviva said.

"Really? He love tales? What kind? Fairy tales? Mythology? I have millions of it."

"I rather write my own tales."

"I would love to hear one."

"Well... " Antonio prepared to start. "There was once a farmer who built a huge cellar. Then, he filled it of grains of wheat until it reach the ceiling. He left a small hole there, and then a grasshopper entered, and picked a grain. Then, another grasshopper entered, and picked another grain, and another grasshopper entered and picked another grain..."

And as he told about grasshoppers picking grains continuosly, Chris started to yawn. Aviva just listened attentiously.

* * *

"...and one last grasshopper entered, picking the last grain in the cellar," Antonio said, although that grasshopper and grains thing seemed to last hours. Aviva applauded him, and Chris snapped awake quickly, having fallen asleep during the story.

"Um… interesting."

"He's so poetic..." Aviva said. Chris gave her a look of disbelief.

"Ugh! That was the most boring story I've ever heard," Martin complained, as he observed Antonio and Chris, with the team.

"Agreed..." Bite-Size said. "I'm getting sleepy already. And it's not even my nap time."

"Hmm..." Martin thought for a moment. "Maybe he's a little off because he's shy or somethin' like this, and knowing us all in the same time was intimidating."

"Hmm... maybe. You know what? Let's try this: each of us tries hangin' out with him, one at a time," Koki said. "Maybe if we show our ways of having fun, he'll eventually warm up to us."

"Agreed," Martin said. The team stopped observating and prepared for action.

"Oh, Antonio... my favorite story, pleaaase?" Aviva asked.

"The one about mice picking cheese in a huge storage? _Esta bien_ ," Antonio dully said, while Chris whined with his mouth closed.

* * *

Martin swam around in the lake.

"Hey, wanna join in, Antonio?" he asked when he saw him coming over. "I'll show you the Bass powers I have in my Creature Power Suit if you want."

Antonio simply sat close to the water. "This water might be freezing. And I have not brought my swimming clothes. No, thanks." He started using his hammer into a rock close to him.

It was rather loud, making the blonde cover his ears. He soon couldn't take it and, activating his Bass powers, he swam to the bottom of the lake.

* * *

*BG music: Have You Ever Seen the Rain? - Creedance Clearwater Revival*

Koki showed him her station and all the Tortuga's machinery, but he only seemed to be interested in the many pipes they had in the spare parts. With the noise he made while twisting the parts, she covered her ears and grunted.

Jimmy tried introducting him to his videogames, but Antonio used the X-2000 as a model to a wax statue. With the noise he made with his hammer, Jimmy buried his face on a pillow.

Mina tried showing him all the creatures in the park, but he was interested only in the rocks, as he picked them up, throwing some away, and hitting Mina.

* * *

"No luck..." Mina sighed. "And my head hurts."

"Me neither… he's really noisy, and only seems to care about building, no matter what kind of not-interesting-at-all stuff he sees," Koki said.

"Does he even care about us being there?" Jimmy asked. "And does he even care about Aviva being there?"

"He's supposed to care. He's her twin," Chris said.

"Let's face it, guys… we _can't_ be friends with a guy like him. He just doesn't care," Bite-Size sighed.

"But we can't tell this to Aviva. She'll get mad or really sad with us," Martin pointed out.

"She seemed so excited about him coming. We can't do this to her." Mina said.

"*sigh* But I guess we don't have a choice," Koki said.

"Hey, _amigos_!" Aviva called. "I just ran into the closest junkyard and picked as many spare parts I could! Soon we'll be all exchanging them between each other!"

The crew looked at each other. They needed to tell her, but...

"Um… Viva?" Koki started.

" _Si_?"

"Um… I don't think we're in the mood for doing… spare parts trades now..." Martin continued.

"Why?"

"Um… because..." Jimmy tried saying.

"*sigh* Because it does not make sense to do something best friends do… when we're not even friends with him," Chris finally said. Aviva stared at them. "Sorry, but... some people just don't… bond with other people."

"Oh..." Aviva turned around. "Um… well, okay… if you don't mind..." Tears formed on her eyes as she turned around. "... I'm gonna think about what to do with… all these spare parts..."

She walked away with her bag, leaving the others struck with guilt.

* * *

The crew reunited at the Tortuga.

"I feel bad about upsetting Aviva," Koki admitted.

"Yeah... but Bites does have a point: how she expect us to bond with someone that's not interested at all?" Chris asked.

"Yeah, that brother of her is really ignetious," the Kratt in blue said.

"Don't cha mean ignorant?" Jimmy asked.

"No… ignetious. Like the igneous rock. Guess who told me that?" Martin grunted.

"No worries, guys!" Aviva called from outside. "I have just the perfect thing for us all to bond!"

* * *

She took all the team and Antonio to an abandoned warehouse.

"Presenting... the first Wild Kratts special place!" Aviva said. "Designed by _moi_. Note: gotta thank the owner of this establishment for allowing me to use it."

The crew stared in awe, except for Antonio, that maintained his dull stare.

"It has a climbing station for Chris, a swimming part for Martin, a building and videogame station for me, Koki and Jimmy and even a critter space for Mina. It's full of plush animals."

"And that thing on the end is..." Mina wondered.

"A giant rock place for Antonio!" Aviva said. "So he can build anything without making a mess around."

"It's huge," Antonio said.

"Yeah… and really dangerous at some point," Chris thought loudly. Aviva heard that.

"Oh, yeah? I'll prove it's safe," she said, determinated. "And you'll all bond quickly! You'll see."

"Oh, boy, you got her on the weak point," Koki said.

"Oops," Chris gulped.

Aviva passed through Chris and Martin's stations without a problem, but once she got into the building station, she tripped on some wires, and accidentaly threw her screwdriver in the giant rocks' direction. They eventually started to crumble.

Aviva gulped, and tried freeing herself from the wires, but she was stuck.

"AAAAH! _Ayudame_!"

Antonio rushed to save her, passing through each part of the obstacle course, as fast as he could. The Kratt bros' jaws dropped.

As soon as he reached Aviva, he used his hands to free her from the wires. Then, he picked up Candlejack and threw him in a button's direction, closing the giant rock place's room.

A rock eventually bounced on the critter space, and was going to hit Aviva, but with the ability of a _traceur,_ Antonio held Aviva close to him, and swung them out of that room using a wire. Chris's jaw dropped even farther.

As he landed, Antonio embraced Aviva.

" _Hermana_ , what were you thinking?" Antonio asked Aviva in a somewhat worried tone. "You could've gotten yourself killed."

"I just... wanted them to see... it was safe... but I guess I made a mishap," Aviva said.

Antonio dully sighed. "Look, sister... I know it's important to you that your friends become my friends too... but if this means you'll keep trying to get in trouble just for it... guess it'll be better to all of us that I returned to my home."

"But..." Aviva's eyes started filling with tears. "We didn't even try... building something..." She following him sobbing quietly. "Wait... _por favor_..."

Martin closed his brother's jaw.

"I... I don't believe it," Chris said.

"Yeah, I know. Guess this time we really blew it..." Martin sighed.

"No, not that! Well, maybe a little, but... I don't believe what I saw!" Chris said. "He really CAN move as fast as I do!"

"And did you see the way he saved Aviva?" Koki said. "And we thought he didn't care about her..."

"Well, he proved us wrong," Martin said. "It looked like he could move a mountain for Aviva."

"And you saw how he used Candlejack to close the rock room's door?" Jimmy asked.

"Yeah… that was really smart," Bite-Size said. "His face doesn't show a thing, but his actions... wow."

Chris gasped in realization. "That's it! I think I know now! I finally know what we have in common, and trhis might be enough reason for us to make the spare part exchange."

The crew looked up, with their moods a little better.

* * *

Antonio finished packing up his stuff, and Aviva sighed sadly.

"I'm sorry, sis." Dull as always, Antonio put a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe next time I visit, we can build something together. I admit I missed building with you."

"Aww... look... can I go with you?" Aviva asked. "Guess I'm the only one wanting to spend some time close to you, Tonio. And perhaps I'll end up building something interesting back home. It's been so long since I was there."

"Well... okay, I guess," Antonio said, as Aviva embraced him.

* * *

Once they walked outside Aviva's room, they saw the team looking at them.

"Uh... what is going on?" Antonio asked.

"Guys?" Aviva asked.

"Aviva... we're sorry for hurting your feelings by not bonding with your twin so fast," Mina said. "And Antonio... we're sorry for making you think the only way to spare your sister's feelings was leaving."

"We thought you didn't cared... but we were wrong. You showed us," Bite-Size said.

"Yeah, gotta admit the way you saved her that time was... just good enough to prove that you DO and always cared for her," Koki said.

"We know now what we have in common. It's something great to have in common by the way: we all love Aviva, and want her to be happy!" Chris said, and the crew agreed.

"Aww, _amigos_." Aviva wiped her tears.

"Precisely," Antonio said.

The team made a confused expression, but Aviva smiled, really happy. Then, she looked at Koki.

"What happened?"

"Uh... he doesn't seem happy about th..."

"Are you kidding?! That's the happiest face he ever made! How can't you guys... notice it…" Aviva stopped, finally understanding what happened. "Oh... Now I see what's wrong."

"You haven't told them?" Antonio asked, always dull.

"Yeah... I forgot." Aviva blushed.

"Tell what, Aviva?" Chris asked.

"Well... my brother was born with an…emotional condition... sort of a "lack of emotions"," Aviva said.

The Wild Kratts nodded in understanding. That sure explained a lot.

"If it wasn't for a bit of minutes, guess I would have been born with the same thing." She pointed out.

"I guess you probably noticed this in the first place... it's because of this condition I don't show enthusiasm like my sister does," Antonio said.

"That actually explains a lot... we thought you hated to meet us," Chris admitted.

"Are you kidding? You are great friends. My sister's lucky to have you guys," Antonio admitted. "Because of my… "lack of emotions", if you prefer calling my condition like this, I don't have much friends besides Candlejack."

"This will change now," Martin decided. "We're sorry we were so incomprehensive at first. But if only Aviva had explained before..."

"I was over excited about him coming, and forgot about this detail," Aviva blushed. " _Perdon_."

"But despite your "lack of emotions"... can you at least show us when you're happy?" Chris asked. "A little bit, maybe?"

"Well... the least of happiness I show physically is this." Antonio gave them a weak smile.

"Well... that's good to start," Martin assured. The crew agreed.

Antonio looked at Aviva, who in response embraced him.

* * *

 _Mina (voice-over): Aviva's brother at first was strange to us, because we didn't really understood his eccentricity. She was excited about him coming and forgot to tell a lot, but we learned that as important than giving people time to know us, we must give OURSELVES some time to know someone before assuming anything, just like getting to know a new creature._

After a pleasant week, finally bonding with Antonio and understand a bit of his hobbies, like building or different ways of expressing creativity, seeing these as actually pretty interesting, the team reunited to say goodbye to him.

"We all have something for you to remember us," Martin said, showing him wax mandalas the crew made. "And to remember that we'll always be friends."

"I appreciate them very much," Antonio said, weakly smiling.

Aviva gave him a spare part that somehow had a heart-shaped hole. " _Te amo, hermano._ " She kissed his cheek.

" _Gracias_ ," Antonio said. He gave her some gears. "I left something for you all to remember me on the lake." He pointed to the lake's direction. The others used their binoculars and gasped: there, close to the lake, was a statue of the team, made of rock, spare parts and also wax.

"I've used everything I built and brought. That's what I've been doing while you all tried to show me your ways of having fun. It's my way of showing people I care by giving them something special," Antonio said.

"I love it," Martin said. "You sure are talented."

"We liked it too," Chris said, and the crew agreed.

"Oh, that reminds me," Mina said. She picked up Candlejack. "Found your pet buried in what was left of the obstacle course. Helped Aviva cleaning everything, 'cause the owner got really mad."

" _Gracias_ , Mina," Antonio said. While Aviva wasn't looking, he opened a secret bag he brought, and placed the part in it, where there were others.

"These are the spare parts Aviva gave you?" Koki asked.

Antonio nodded.

"You haven't built anything with them?"

"I couldn't find a way to use them... but I keep them anyway. I'm not that into science... but I do love _mi hermana_." Antonio weakly smiled as he saw Aviva building something with her own spare parts. She ended up building a small sculpture of parts, symbolizing her and the team.

"And we all love her too," Mina said.


	12. Episode 13: Kratt Family Tales

_A baby boy was burning red. He was crying weakly from the heat. His mom held him close in concern. The father paced, trying to think of what to do. The AC was on full blast, but it didn't cool down his son._

 _"Honey, please tell me you'll have an idea soon," his wife pleaded._

 _"I'm trying, Linda," Mr. Kratt replied, continuing his pacing. "We've already tried a cool bath and drinks of water, but they didn't work. And we can't risk using ice." The baby groaned loudly, getting their attention._

 _"Hooooooo..." he moaned. Both his parents went wide eyed. "Hoooooooot..."_

 _"Did... did he just...?" the husband asked surprised._

 _"He said his first word." Suddenly, it felt cold in the room. "Brrrrr, is that AC finally working?" Mr. Kratt checked the thermostat, running his arms to get warm._

 _"No, it's been on the same setting running the whole time." Something fell in front of his face, shocking him. "Snow?!" It was snowing in the house!_

 _"Honey, look at Martin!" He hurried over to his wife and child. Martin's cheeks were their normal pink tint and his light blue eyes were open. The baby was also smiling and started laughing as he reached up to grab a snowflake._

 _One certain snowflake caught their eye. It looked like it had a pattern of paw prints. The snowflake landed on the child's nose before melting, making him laugh a bit louder._

* * *

Mr. Kratt woke with a start in his and Linda's bed. He slowly sat up to not wake her. The father remembered that day so clearly. It was the first sign of Martin having powers, but they didn't know that.

"What happened, William?" Linda said, waking up after all.

"Ugh... another memory."

"You know we'll have to tell them at some point, don't you?"

"Yes... I do," William sighed.

* * *

The next day, the Wild Kratts were helping to prepare the Kratts' house for the family reunion. Every family member would be attending. Even Clarissa and Mina were joining.

"Oh, I wish that nymphs had family reunions," the hybrid nymph said while putting some flowers in a vase. "That way I could meet more of my nymph sisters."

"Well, family reunions _are_ things to look forward to," Chris told her as he helped Martin put up some of the decorations. "And it's been a long time since our family last had one."

"Why is that?" Both brothers paused. They looked at each other before sighing.

"Because of the Lupus incident," Martin answered. "After that incident, mom had us just stop going to the forest or any family events. Of course, we didn't know why we couldn't go anymore, but she refused to tell us."

"I think I need to hear the whole story to understand," Clarissa said. There was a pause of silence when she looked away for a moment. "And Faust would like to hear it too." The bros gave each other another look of worry. They never told EVERY detail of their encounters with Maximillian and Paris before. They still freak them out a little.

"I think it's better I tell them first," Linda said, coming into the room. "By the way boys, Miss Luna wanted me to give you this." She handed the two an envelope.

 _"Kratt Brothers,_

 _"Sorry to bother you when you're probably busy with your upcoming family event, but I have a favor to ask. Ventus has been feeling a little... down lately. I believe he actually still hasn't gotten over what happened to his brothers. So I was hoping that you could let him attend the festivities with you, since he is your brother. I think he'll greatly appreciate it if you let him come along and be with you guys. Please stop by if you allow his attendance."_

 _Thank you,_

 _Hermia"_

"Who's Ventus?" Clarissa asked.

"I'm wondering that too," Linda admitted.

"Well, he's... like it says, our brother, but..." Martin hesitated with worry. How do you explain that a kid that looks older than Mina (even though she's really a bit more than 50 in nymph years) that's really more than 10,000 years old and was your brother in a past life is still your brother? "It's... complicated. Let's just go with that. The story's confusing." Chris and Mina nodded at that.

"But how about it, mom?" the brunet son asked. "Can Ven come along?" Their mom smiled.

"I don't see why not. He is family too." The Kratt Bros smiled.

"Thanks mom!" they said. They started heading for the door.

"We'll be right back! Won't take long!" With that, they were out of there.

* * *

From the bottom of a windy hill, Hermia saw a speck of white. Just one. Ventus Hill, the landscape was called because of the winds. And that was why her son was named that. Ventus, her apprentice from 10,000 years ago. He liked hanging out up there when something's on his mind or he wants a bit of privacy. And right now, something was deeply on his mind.

Ventus was laying back on the soft grass with his arms behind his head. A breeze played with his messy dirty blond hair. There was a look of pain and regret in his sea green eyes. As the clouds went by above, one caught his eye. It was almost shaped like a perfect four pointed star. That symbol reminded him too much of…

"Terra…" he muttered sadly. His little brother loved making crystals shaped similar to that shape. Then another passed by. It looked almost like a snowman. It saddened him more. "Aqua…" He used to always make a snowman in his free time.

A tear finally fell from his eyes. "I'm so sorry…" He took a sharp breath. "If I... could undo what I had done..." The apprentice reached an arm into the air, as if to grab a cloud. "I would take it." Ven closed his hand softly. Then, he brought his arm down over his eyes to shield them from the sun's light. He closed his eyes in thought.

"Ven!" a familiar voice called. He opened his sea green eyes, only to be looking up at a bright sky with white clouds.

"What the?"

"Ven!" He looked downhill, seeing two taller figures in green and blue. Ventus smiled lightly.

' _What am I thinking?'_ the child in white wondered. ' _They're here with me again. There's nothing to mourn about.'_ With that, the apprentice rushed down to them. But then, he tripped near the bottom. The Kratt Brothers were quick to catch him.

"Woa! Easy Ventus!" Chris warned.

"It's so great to see you guys again!" the kid exclaimed happily.

"We're certainly glad you think that!" Martin said. "How's things with Hermia?"

"Everything is great! Mom and Aunt Athena had been so kind in teaching me! I even already made friends with other apprentices!"

"That _is_ great, Ven! Happy to know that you're doing just fine!"

"Well, I will actually admit that I've had a little trouble adjusting to "hiding"."

"Oh yeah. Since you're human, normal people can see you, unlike mythical creatures. And modern day is oblivious to this part of the world."

"Mm hmm. A lot has changed." The Kratts nodded in agreement. Ven then noticed something.

"Wow, either I need contacts or you two are even shorter than last time!" Ventus joked.

"Or you're getting taller!" Chris guessed. "You must be under some really high exposure to elemental energy!"

"Hey, we're getting off topic, Chris!" Martin pointed out.

"Oh yeah! We were going to ask you something!"

"Well, what?"

"You know you're in our family, right?"

"Yeah?"

"So that means that you can come to the Kratt Family reunion with us!"

"A family reunion?"

"Have you never... oh, right. Of course you don't. Sorry Ven." They remembered that his parents died after Terrance was born.

"Since you're going, I think you need a proper outfit," Hermia suggested, as she joined them.

"Proper?" The goddess took a yellow flower out of her hair and tucked it behind Ven's ear. It glowed as well as his uniform. After it died down, he was dressed like a modern preteen. A pale yellow t-shirt with a white jacket with its sleeves rolled up, blue jeans and white tennis shoes. And were those black hairclips in his bangs?

Ventus examined himself in awe. "Whoa-ho! That looks awesome on you!" Martin commented.

"Agree!" Chris said. Ven grinned at the compliments. He went over and hugged Hermia.

"Thank you mom!"

"You're very welcome, Ventus. Now you best be off. Can't leave the family hanging."

"Yes mom!"

"Well, come on Ven!" Martin called. "It's not going to wait for us!"

"Coming!"

* * *

Many cars were parked in front of the Kratts' residence.

"We're back," the Kratt Brothers said.

"And we brought Ventus," Chris added.

"Wow! You look great Ven!" Mina said.

"Thanks, Mina. And we never did have a proper introduction, did we?"

"I don't think so." The dirty blonde held out a hand.

"Well then, it's nice to meet you, little sister." The hybrid took his hand and shook it.

"Nice to meet you too, big brother."

"Awe, is this Ventus?" Clarissa asked in adoration.

"Hello. Nice to meet you. What's your name?"

"I'm Clarissa. I'm adopted like Mina is."

"Uh, well, I'm not _exactly_ adopted."

"What does that-"

"Oh boys, he is so cute!" the mom said when she saw her new son. "It's a pleasure to meet you Ven."

"Thanks. So you must be their mom."

"He's adorable!" the twins said when they came into the room. "Our new little brother!"

Martin was about to correct them, but then Chris shushed him. "Let them enjoy it for now."

"Wow. We have a lot of relatives," Mina commented, as she saw everyone in the backyard.

"Now, I hope you remember that one rule while relatives are here," Linda told the bros.

"Of course, Mom. Don't let them hear."

"Don't let them see."

"Don't let them know." Their mom and dad smiled. The younger siblings besides the twins looked in confusion.

"What was that about?" Clarissa questioned. Mr. and Mrs. Kratt sighed.

"The rest of the family doesn't know about our boys' powers," the father explained.

"Why?" Ventus asked.

"We feared they will reject them if they found out," Linda replied. "Ever since we discovered Martin's powers, we tried to hide them from the family. The first one with Martin was a tough one. Because being just a tyke, he didn't know better." Martin blushed at that. "We were just lucky that the reunion was scheduled in the early winter. He made it snow for hours and they didn't know it wasn't in the forecast!" The twins giggled at that.

"Mom!" her eldest son exclaimed in embarrassment. Suddenly, they heard an elderly laugh. They all froze. Coming towards them was an old man, but not old enough to need a wheelchair. He was, however, using a cane.

"Sounds like someone's having a childhood embarrassment moment," he said.

"Grandpa!" the biological siblings said, coming over to the man. Grandpa was able to embrace all of them.

"Oh ho! My Linda's children!" He released them and got a good look at them. "Haven't seen you together for ages! And look how much you've all grown! I wouldn't be surprised if you already have dates!" The four blushed.

"Grandpa!" The old man just laughed in amusement.

"I'm teasing ya! But really, there must be _some special one_ in your lives now!"

"Oh, I know these young boys here got girlfriends!" an elderly woman proclaimed happily as she pulled the bros into a hug.

"G-Grandma!" they both complained. She let them go and pulled them to her level, looking at their lips.

"Mm hmm, I can already see that these lips are no longer virtuous! One by surprise and the other took hers!" Now their faces were burning in embarrassment. Their adopted siblings were trying to hold in their laughter.

"Ho ho, you can't hide signs of love from your maternal grandma!" Grandpa joked. "Being into voodoo and that!" That surprised the adopted. A grandma into voodoo and they didn't tell even her?

"So tell me! Who are the lucky ladies to have you?"

"Mom, knock it off," Linda said. "Do you know how much you're embarrassing them?" Her sons nodded frantically in agreement.

"Oh, sorry, daughter. It's just that it brings us a lot of good old memories being here with them after so long. I remember when Chris was just a kid... one time, when everyone reunited for dinner..."

* * *

 _The family was all gathered to eat pizza. In a short time, there were no slices left._

" _Hey... where did the last pizza slice go?" the Kratts' paternal grandma asked. She heard someone chewing something from under the table. Once she looked down there, she saw Martin with a little Chris on his lap._

 _"Hi grandma," Martin greeted in a happy voice._

" _Hey... is he my new grandson?"_

" _I'm Chwis! Mowe piza, gwandma?" She chuckled._

* * *

"So young… and with the appetite of a bull..."

"Grandma!" Chris yelled from humiliation. His siblings bursted out laughing.

"My goodness, Chris!" Clarissa said between her laughter. The older brunet felt himself dying inside.

"Too bad _my_ mom died after that time. That terrible pneumonia got her," William lamented.

"There was that one time with Martin, before little Chris was born..." Grandpa started.

* * *

 _A two and a half year old Martin ran across the yard like a cheetah._

" _Martin, come back here and eat your food!" Linda yelled as she chased him. The dad was holding the twins' hands. He had an amused look on his face._

 _"Watch me dear," Mr. Kratt said. He let go of the girls, slowly making his way over to his son's path. When the toddler was close enough, he snatched him off his feet. "HAAAA!" he said like a monster. Martin screamed playfully before laughing. "Gotcha, ya speedin' rascal!" A few teen relatives nearby giggled at the scene as the father and son laughed._

* * *

"He was quite the wild child back then..."

"Grandpa!" Martin protested. It was Chris's turn with the siblings.

"Oooh, those were good times. But now that makes me wonder. Why _did_ you stop going to the reunions?" All that knew froze. "Linda?"

"Uh, it... started to get hard to pay for my boys after four years of our divorce," the mom said, which was technically true. "I was really busy with work to pay off debts so we couldn't go." The siblings held their breath in worry.

"Hmmm... I will make sure to talk with your manager about this." Their breaths were released.

"Hi there!" a young girl about Mina's age greeted her and Ven. Her hair was wavy and light brown. She wore a lavender party dress with a purple flower stitch.

"Oh, hello," Mina replied. "Um, I'm Mina."

"And I'm Ventus," the apprentice said.

"Ventus?" the girl asked in confusion. Both started to internally panic.

"Uh, it's just a nickname I go by. My real name is Vincent."

"Oh." The girl smiled. "I'm Louise. My little brother and sister were wondering if you would like to race them." She pointed to two children standing not too far from them who were slightly younger. Both had lighter brown hair than Louise. They looked almost identical. "They're twins by the way."

"Ah."

"I'll race," Mina said.

"I think I'll watch first," Ven declined.

"Suite yourself," Louise stated before the two girls made their way over. Ventus chuckled lightly.

"Just like that one time long ago..."

* * *

 _Ven and his brothers were hanging around the beach. Arthur was swimming in the water not far from shore. Terra was playing in the sand, making a mountain. Ventus was actually practicing his new magic by blowing the sand lightly._

 _Suddenly, Ven heard a shout of surprise. The eldest and youngest looked out to the water. The middle sibling was startled by two teenage mermaids. One was a girl and the other was a boy. They had gills on their necks and fins on their forearms._

 _"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," the merman apologized. "We were just seeing how awesome you were at swimming."_

 _"Oh, well thank you," Arthur replied._

 _"Say do you want to race?" the mermaid asked._

 _"In the water? Count me in!"_

 _"Cool! We'll start at the lake in the river!" The merman pointed in the direction of the mouth of the river._

 _"We'll meet you there!" Arthur got onto shore and the three brothers ran to the lake. The mermaids took the path in the river. There actually, were several other mythical people. They wondered what was going on. The audience got the hint when the apprentice of Hermia got in the lake._

 _"On your marks!" the merman said at the starting line with the other two._

 _"Get set!" the mermaid added._

 _"GO!" With that, they kicked off. The crowd followed, rooting for them._

 _"Arthur! Arthur!" his brothers cheered. The others were cheering for the mermaids at first, but then started chanting "Aqua! Aqua!" That confused the three. Who's Aqua?_

 _Arthur had actually taken the lead and was first one out. The crowd cheered, especially Ven and Terra. Arthur came up for air._

 _"Wow! You're fast for a human!" the merman said to him._

 _"Congratulations!" the mermaid applauded._

 _"I won?" the apprentice asked in disbelief._

 _"No doubt about it, Arthur!" They heard the crowd continuing to cheer. "And, I think you'll be called Aqua for a while."_

 _"Aqua... I love it!" The two hoisted the bit onto their shoulders as everyone kept applauding._

* * *

Ven smiled at the memory. It also got him thinking about how Terra got his nickname.

* * *

 _"Look how high you are, Terrance!" a young Ventus said as he and Arthur swung their youngest brother between them. The brunet laughed._

 _"And a 1, and a 2, and a 3," Arthur counted as they swung him. Each was harder and faster. "And a-"_

 _"WHEEE!" the littlest brother squealed when he let go and was sent flying into the trees. His older siblings screamed in panic. Terrance landed safely feet first on a tree branch._

 _"Woohoo! That was fun!" Terrance said. "Oh. Follow me!"_

 _"Terrance, wait!" Arthur called._

" _I'll get him!" Ventus panicked._

 _Ven started climbing the tree trunk. "Okay Terrance. Slowly come towards me." The four year old casually walked to the trunk. "Too fast, Terrance. Slow down." But instead of coming to Ven, he jumped to a higher branch. Both elder brothers screamed again. "Terrance! Get back down here!"_

 _"I want to go higher!" the little child said as he continued to climb._

 _"Terrance! Wait! Where are you going?!" Ventus climbed after him._

" _Come on, guys!" Terrance said._

 _"Just what is he doing?!" Arthur called out as he followed his older sibling._

 _"I have no idea!" Ven replied. Terrance stopped on a branch, waiting for them. His brothers finally reached him, and they put their hands on their knees as they caught their breath._

 _"By the name of Chronos, you guys are slow!" the brunet laughed._

 _"Terrance, what were you thinking?!" the dirty blond scolded. "You could've fallen!"_

" _But I didn't. Now come on! A bit higher!" With that, he started climbing again. Ventus sighed in defeat._

 _"All right, you win. We're coming." The two followed him to the canopy._

* * *

Ventus's memory was interrupted by Mina's voice.

"Ventus! Let's play!"

"Mina!" he scolded.

"Oh right. Vincent. Come on!" She grabbed his arm and led him to the other kids.

"You got a strong grip, little sis."

*BG music: Owl City feat. Carly Rae Jespen - Good Time*

Some of the kids surrounded the brothers asking for autographs and stories of their adventures. Minus the Nature Guardian adventures, that is. And much to their relief, their powers weren't acting up.

"Woo-hoo!" Ventus exclaimed as he and the kids rolled down the grass. Never had he had so much fun since with his little brothers. There were times he slipped up and said one or two things about magic, but the other kids, fortunately, thought he was being funny.

Little did they know is that two wolf silhouettes were observing the whole reunion.

"I'm really impatient, Max. Can't we just attack them now?"

"Wait a little longer, Paris. We must have them all in our sight."

* * *

"Phew. I'm exhausted," Ventus said, plopping down onto the grass. "And boy, am I dirty. Wonder what mom would say."

"Looks like you were enjoying yourself," Chris said as he came over with a cup of lemonade.

"Sure did. Never had so much fun since... then." Chris sat next to him.

This made Ventus remember what happened next on that day Terra got his nickname.

* * *

 _The three brothers made it to the top of the canopy._

" _Here we are," Terrance said. The two elder brothers gasped in surprise. The canopy was glittering with crystals, shaped like stars. "It's magic I learned from Aunt Athena. You always told me how much you missed stargazing with our parents… so I thought you would like this."_

 _"It's beautiful..." Ven started tearing up. "Thanks a lot, Terra."_

" _Terra?"_

" _Yeah… you have talent with climbing and plants. What better name to give you?"_

 _"If I recall from my studies, Grandma Gaia used to be called that in the neighboring country."_

 _"Oh yeah, she_ was _called that. Well, it's fitting for you too, squirrel boy." The eldest ruffled his hair._

 _"Hey!" Arthur laughed at the two._

* * *

"Ven?" Chris called his attention.

"Oh… sorry. Having a flashback."

"Hmm… I know the feeling." He then held the cup out to him. "Here. I thought you would want something after running around a lot."

"Thanks." Ven received the lemonade. He took a small sip. "Wow, this tastes great. It's sour, but sweet too."

"What? You mean you never had lemonade before?"

"Well, I've been trapped in a sphere for 10,000 years. I've never seen evolution in drinks. And they don't serve that at the apprentice dorms." Chris chuckled.

Suddenly, they heard screams coming from the house.

"Huh? Was that… Mina?"

* * *

The Lupus ran after the children. The three brothers made it over to where the whole family was.

The kids ran behind the adults, screaming. Mina actually hid behind Ven.

"You two?! Now?!" Martin yelled.

"Can't we get a break?!" Chris commented.

The Lupus growled in response. "Let's get them now, or shall we play with them first?" Paris asked.

"Let's have some fun first, brother. I was waiting for a long time to snatch the little twerp," Max pronounced. "Remember our deal?"

"I get the brat and you get the elder. I know."

The Lupus charged at them, but Clarissa stood in front of them.

"Just over my dead body!"

" **Clarissa… are you sure?"** Faust asked in her mind.

"I don't have a choice, Faust," she said. "Whatever they're planning now, we need to stop them."

" **I've seen them before… but I still don't know where,"** Faust said.

Clarissa immediately changed to wolf form, after everyone got inside. She charged against Paris, knocking him down. But after a short struggle, Paris kicked her off.

"Game over, Lassie."

Martin threw a good sized rock at Paris. It made the beast topple backwards, and Clarissa stood up with Chris's help.

"Chris! Clarissa! Get inside!" They didn't need to be told twice. The brunettes made a dash for the door, Clarissa quickly switching back.

"Martin!" Linda yelled. "Quick! Run!"

Martin got in and slammed the door shut after saving his little siblings. The brunet brother was sweating in fear, clinging to his father's shirt, and plants grew all around the house.

Martin froze. He didn't just... freeze the floor in fear, did he?

"Oh no..."

"What is going on here?" Grandpa asked. "Linda?" The mother and father stared at the ground with a guilty expression.

"... Besides the twins..." Linda began. "... We didn't have normal children."

"How long were you hiding this from us?" Grandma questioned.

"If you count since when the twins were born, pretty much forever."

"We only actually discovered Martin having... powers when they were infants," William explained.

* * *

 _A barely 1 year old, blond toddler waddled over to his parents, who were holding two bundles in their arms. The child held his arms out to them._

 _"Aw, Linda, he wants to hold one of his new sisters," Mr. Kratt said._

 _"You know he can't just yet," she pointed out. Martin made a baby pouty face. The adults laughed at that. The toddler started stomping his little feet with his arms in the air. Then, he lost his balance and fell forward. The moment his hands touched the floor, the wood froze. His parents gasped. Martin immediately sat up, scared of what he just did._

" _Don't be scared. It's okay," Linda quickly assured him._

 _Martin got calm, seeing his little sisters' smiles. Once he held them... nothing happened. He smiled at them._

 _"Incredible..." Linda murmured._

" _He must love them really much. Never saw him so happy..."_

 _"Or freezing the floor."_

 _"Our boy's special, Linda. But..."_

 _"But what?"_

 _"... I think it would be safe to not let the rest of the family know about this."_

 _"Are you sure?"_

 _"For the whole family's sake."_

* * *

"How could you not trust us, daughter?" Grandma asked. "You know that between our family there's no secrets."

"Besides, it actually impresses me how well developed your powers are," Grandpa said, surprising the Kratt siblings.

"You mean you don't hate us?" Chris asked.

"Why would we do that? We love our grandchildren. If you have powers, it just make you both even more special," Grandma said.

"Thanks," Mina said, sighing in relief.

Linda sighed in relief as well, and looked at William.

"What? How could I have known they would be so acceptable?" he asked.

"Uh, guys. Not wanting to interrupt this warm moment, but they're trying to get in," Clarissa said.

"We need a plan."

"Now you two big dogs better get lost or you'll feel the weight of my cane!" Grandpa shouted from the door.

"Oh, no..." Grandma sighed. "Don't try being a hero again..."

"This is a family house! You better move your paws away from the door or you'll see."

"Dad, stop!" William gulped. Thinking quickly, Chris made a vine grow and pull the elderly man away from the door.

"Come on! Lemme at 'em, lemme at 'em!"

"Grandpa, better let the experts do it," Martin said, calling for his sword. Chris called for his bow and made an arrow.

"Get them, darlins'!" Linda cheered.

"Yeah, kids. Go get those big bad wolves," William said.

The two Lupus busted through the door. The rest of the family fled to another room.

"Maximillian and Paris, you've crossed the line this time, attacking our family!" Chris yelled.

"And now, both of you will pay the consequences!" Martin added.

The two wolves charged. Chris let loose his arrows in Max's direction, Martin struck Paris with his sword, and Clarissa, with her strength recovered, changed to wolf form to defend her brothers.

"Well, Alpha Darius will love to have you dead, missy," Max said. "What do you think, Paris?"

"Brilliant, brother."

"Darius?" Clarissa asked. "He's your alpha?"

"You first, Paris," Max said, as he charged at Chris again, disarming him.

"My bow!"

Paris attacked Clarissa, but Martin stood in front of him, striking him with the sword. "Get your paws away from my sister!"

"You go first then!" The Lupus attacked Martin, disarming him.

"Oh, no! Martin! Chris! Clarissa!" Mina gasped.

"We can't just stand here," Louise said, as they observed the Kratt siblings. "We gotta do something."

"If we gonna help them, we'll need a plan," Ventus said.

"We got just the thing," Christine said. She and Susan had two bins full of water balloons. "We were planning for the family to have a balloon fight later, but…"

"Good job, sisters," Mina said.

The Kratt siblings were disarmed and apparently helpless.

"Well, Kratt siblings? Still strong to fight?" Paris asked, mocking them.

"Yes, we are!" Martin replied, despite being unable to tap into his ice powers with his weapon due to the link.

"Leave our cousins alone!" Louise shouted, throwing a water balloon at the Lupus.

"Attack!" Mina said. Immediately, the children gathered their water balloons and as many rocks they could. The eyes of the Lupus widened as a barrage of balloons and rocks came falling upon them.

"Oh, dear..."

"Evil is powerful, but is a coward as well," Ventus said. The shadow wolves attempted to dodge the attack, but then Ven made an air slash, knocking them off their paws. A water balloon landed on them, getting them soaked.

"Ugh, I hate baths," Paris whined.

"You won this time, but we'll be back," Max said, retreating with his brother, as the children cheered.

"Woo-hoo! We won!" Mina said.

"Nice work, kids," Martin complimented.

Suddenly, Clarissa felt Faust calling for her in her mind.

" **I remember now who are those troublemakers, Clarissa,"** Faust said. " **And I guess my pack would be the best to explain about them for you. If it's possible, let's talk with Athena later, and see if we can find them."**

"Thanks, Faust," Clarissa told him.

"Woo-hoo!" Grandma cheered. "Never saw a fight like that since I read about Lupus Phantasma in one of my old books." The Kratt siblings stared at her.

"What? Where do you think Linda got the obsession for mythology, sillies?"

"Oh... so that's how you knew," Martin commented, remembering that time when they were reunited thanks to Eris.

"Yeah... guess I was a little embarrassed myself to tell you both at first," Linda admitted.

"I know now why you needed to hide them. It was not only for the brothers' safety, but for our safety as well," Grandpa said. "We're really sorry we pushed you all so hard, William."

"It's okay... it was my idea in the first place, Dad," William admitted. "And boys, I'm sorry once again for putting you in trouble. If only I stopped expecting the worse to happen... guess the whole family would've known sooner or later."

"Oh, Dad... you should know us better to know that despite all problems, you're still our father and we love you," Chris said.

"We understand why you both needed to do this. And we forgive you. Really," Martin assured.

"Here, Mina and Vincent. This is for you both to remember... that we'll always be family," Grandma pointed out. She gave both of them a medallion with a jewel. Mina's jewel was heart-shaped, and Ventus's medallion had many pearls on it.

"Thank you... Grandma," Mina shyly said.

"Everybody, get together. Time for the photo," Linda said. Everyone moved to find a place to stand.

 _(Martin and Chris voice over): "Despite the Lupus attack, this reunion sure was great for all of us. And we learned that we should never be ashamed or afraid of telling something to our families, because thinking about it, they're the first people you give your trust. Your first friends and the ones that raise you to become what you are today._

 _"Sure was great seeing all of our members together. And this Kratt Family Reunion was beyond successful... actually, it was the most greatest family reunion ever!"_

"Can we have snow, Martin?" Louise asked him. "Please?"

Martin smiled at his family. "Why not?" He conjured his powers into a ball of snow and threw it up, where it exploded like fireworks.

"Okay! Everybody ready!" Linda warned as she set the camera and rushed into the picture.

"Say Creatures!" The camera clicked. Then came a photo of the whole Kratt Family with snow falling in summer.


	13. Episode 14: The Seventh Kratt Sibling

The morning started rising. The Tortuga HQ was once again in the forest. Bite-Size, in his human form, was asleep in Koki's hammock, while snuggling against his friend.

Koki woke up with a soft yawn. She looked down at her bat-turn-human.

"Couldn't sleep well last night, huh? Slowly getting diurnal." She ruffled the boy's hair gently.

"Mornin'!" Martin cheerfully called, startling them both. Bite-Size, recovering from it, yawned.

"Morning Martin," he said groggily.

"Oops! Sorry. Just excited about seeing Ven again."

"I hear ya, bro. Since the family reunion, we haven't seen each other for some time," Chris said. "And I wonder how much he grew this time."

"Yeah, he was probably a whole inch taller than when you guys last saw him!"

"Did he grow that much already?" Koki asked.

"Well, he technically IS the eldest brother from the original Nature Trio. So obviously he would slowly turn back to his Guardian form."

"Would that mean that I'm going to lose my title?" Aviva asked in worry.

"I don't think he'll do that to you Aviva," David replied. "Possibly he'll still have powers, but you were chosen as the new Air Guardian."

"David, what's that scroll in your hands?" Clarissa asked. He was holding an old scroll.

"Let me see this," he said. "It's the original writing of Beowulf."

" _The_ original writing?!" Chris asked, suddenly appearing by them in a happy rush. It startled them though.

"That was one of Chris's favorite literary stories in school," Martin informed. "But why do you have it, David?"

"Mom suggested that I read this. Something about who I used to be or something..."

"Amazing. I love Scandinavian mythology," Chris commented.

"Speaking of her..." Aviva pointed out, seeing Hermia coming through a portal.

"Hello, Guardians. I fear we have a problem. Ventus needs your help."

"What? Is something wrong with him?"

"No, he's feeling well. Something weird is just happening to him."

"Something weird?"

"At first, things were normal," Hermia said. "Ventus eventually started to train again. He'll explain the rest. He's in the training courtyard in my temple."

* * *

The crew reunited in the courtyard with Ven. However, he didn't seem any taller than when Martin and Chris saw him. Ventus told what was going on.

"But then something weird started to happen. No matter how much I train, my powers just get weaker."

Ven showed an example. He tried making a wind reach Mina, who was several yards away. However, she only shook her head, meaning she didn't feel anything. "See?"

"Hmmm, that does seem odd," Chris commented.

"Also... I haven't been growing much lately."

"I don't know if that's a good or bad thing," Martin teased. "I like having a second younger brother."

"Uh, chronologically, I'm well over 10,000 years older than you are."

"Oooooh... he got you there, bro," Chris said.

"In mystical years, of course. But in human years, if you were the eldest of the brothers, you would be at least… 3 or 4 years older than Martin," Aviva tried to theorize. "Since you're stuck now in this teenage form, I would say you would be at least... hmm, let's see… 16 years old."

"Gee, this age thing is confusing." Mina held her head.

"Your mechanic knows me," Ven said, a tint of pink on his face.

"And since Martin is 30-"

"Actually 31. Remember my birthday a while ago?"

"Okay, then. In that case, you would be at least... 35 years old. And you would probably be taller than Martin, too."

"I was taller than Aqua. So that doesn't surprise me."

Athena came in suddenly. "Guardians… I believe we discovered the reason of Ven's power weakness."

"Really? What, Aunt Athy?"

"We'll go to the courtyard. The others are there, and they need to know too."

* * *

The group came to the yard, to see completely demolished blocks and stakes.

"What just happened out here?" Martin asked.

"Mom!" Elsa called. She looked really excited. "You wouldn't believe how much stronger David has gotten since he joined the team!"

"You should've seen him, guys!" Mina said. "He took out 15 golems and 45 enchanted puppets at once!"

"Wow! That _is_ strong!" Ventus commented.

"You can say that again," David commented. "I was just testing my lightning out, and it happened."

"And I know why," Athena said.

"Okay, Athena, no secrets, remember?" Chris said. "What's going on?"

"After much research, we discovered… that Ventus and David share an equal part of their essence."

"What?!" the team asked in confusion.

"We have seven siblings!" Martin cheered. But Ventus, David, Mina, and Elsa gasped.

"Oh no... that's not exactly good," David said.

"Why not?" Martin questioned.

"That doesn't make sense! How can they be the same person?!" Aviva desperately held her head.

"You're misunderstanding, Aviva," Athena said. "I said they shared a part of their essence, but they're NOT the same person."

"Ugh... my brain hurts..." Koki said.

"Just how... is that possible?" Chris asked. Mother Nature sighed.

"It seemed that when Black Storm came to being, not all of Ventus was corrupted like we thought."

"What? But Ven was totally locked inside that dark form," Chris said.

"This was before it, Chris. A small part of Ventus's essence may have escaped somehow and then it just wandered. It needed to find a place to stay…"

"And this place... was inside of David's past life, Beowulf." Hermia confessed.

"But then, how did it get to Beowulf?" Martin asked.

"He must've been nearby and his strong will pulled Ven's spirit to him."

"But how?"

"Hm… I don't know if is it possible… but I remember I kinda noticed my hair was gonig black after that thing with Chaos."

"When you were pricked in the patootie through a voodoo doll," Martin chuckled. "Sorry."

"How did you know that?"

"Long story. We'll tell you later," Chris said. "But you were saying..."

"Well..."

* * *

 _"After the battle, the gods coronated me and my brothers as the first Nature Guardians. As you would guess, I controlled Air, Aqua had Water, and Terra was Earth. But the three of us shared the Element of Fire, because there were only three of us._

" _Then, I noticed the stripe in my hair. I tried all I could to hide it from Mom, while unknowingly feeding my jealousy, even trying spells to get rid of it._

 _"Zero. Zlich. Nada. Nothing worked: the black stripes just kept appearing. And as more came, my jealousy grew. And I started to become distant from mom. Even my brothers._

 _"And then... well, it happened. That day... when I was on the edge of being consumed by it."_

*BG music: Era - Ameno*

Ventus told a messenger woodpecker to fetch his brothers and meet him at the Guardians' Cathedral.

He looked at the messenger, worried. "Be quick. Please." The woodpecker nodded and zoomed off. Ven's hair was almost completely black. The Air Guardian opened the door to the cathedral. Then, he held his head in pain. A tear of pain fell from his eyes, but unknown to him, it started to glow silver and float away.

Ven stood in front of the glass portrait of him and his brothers and the Earth Gem. He stared at the two in blue and green. In anger. Then he heard the door fling open.

"Ven!"

"Brother!" They arrived. By the sounds of their voices, they seemed excited. Ventus flinched in pain, one last time, before his eyes glowed black for an instant, returning to normal after this.

"Not another move," Ventus said, turning to his brothers. They stopped in their tracks in confusion.

* * *

"The rest… well, if you know somehow how Chaos cursed me, you probably know the truth," Ventus sighed, a tear escaping his eyes.

"Hm… I saw that tear thing once in a movie. It was cool. There was a cat, and a princess in danger in an alternate world…" Jimmy geeked out. "Sorry. Out of context."

"No, wait. Maybe not," Koki said. "If I know the movie, the tear floated away, carrying within itself a call for help. Maybe that's what happened. Was Beowulf alive in that era?"

"Hmm..." Athena thought for an instant. "Well... he was a teen at that time, but yes."

* * *

" _At that time, Scandinavia lived under the dictatorship of dragons. Not friendly ones, like the ones that aided us in the war against Eris. At that time, Beowulf lived with the Geats, with who he grew up along with his father Ecgtheow."_

* * *

"I read in books that he killed the monster called Grendel and his mom," Chris said.

"They are indeed true."

"But how did the tear reach him?"

* * *

" _His legend and glorious battles never were forgotten. Especially his last battle with a dragon._

 _"What wasn't written in most stories was that the dying dragon told Beowulf to drink a goblet of water with a silver tear it found, saying the tear will give him new powers. After Beowulf slayed the beast, he did so. They say he changed that moment, his eyes a green of the seas and the winds obeying his every command._

 _"But he admitted he felt something as he drank that water… something like pain and sadness. And he heard a child's cry for help. But he never knew exactly who that child could be. Even so, he searched, something guiding him._

 _"And that's when he was found the Guardians' Cathedral, the Nature Trio's old home now destroyed since Black Storm."_

Beowulf stood before the ruined cathedral. The beast slayer approached before his foot rolled over something. He looked down, seeing a black sphere.

"What are you doing here?" a young voice questioned. Beowulf turned around. A redhead man in battle armor and a brown skinned woman in orange and gold stood before him with narrowed eyes.

"This is a holy ground," the woman said. "No one but Nature Guardians are allowed here."

"Listen, I'm sorry for trespassing on this sacred place," Beowulf tried to defuse their tension. "But a mysterious force guided me here, in search of help. And I have been traveling for many moons to find him."

"Wait, Rose… do you feel that?" the warrior said to the woman.

"Yes… it feels familiar… and yet different..." Rose agreed. "Um… listen, why don't you join us? Maybe Athena and Hermia will know how to help you."

"The Goddess of Wisdom and Mother Nature themselves?"

"Yes… but who are you again?"

"I am Beowulf of the Geats." The two gasped.

"The Slayer of Beasts?" Pyce asked. Then, he knelt to him. "You have my respect, noble Scandinavian warrior."

"As do mine," Rose agreed, joining him.

* * *

"So that's how Beowulf... became part Ven," David thought. "And that also explains a lot about me..."

"And after that day, Beowulf joined us in the war against Eris," Athena added. "And with him, gods like Thor and Odin. But even through all the battles, he never found that child. So he came to me, asking for a spell that can revive him if he were to fall in battle before he finds the child."

"And that spell must've been the same one taught to Terra," Chris figured.

"Yes. He was loyal to someone he never even met. I couldn't let that go un-rewarded."

"That was nice of you and all, Aunt Athy, but we gotta find a way to solve this current problem. I can't take it anymore," Ventus said. "Without that small part, I'll never be able to use Nature Power again. I need all my essence to do it."

"And the worse part is not even that... what if he hurts himself really bad? Since we're connected, who knows what'll happen to me!?" David panicked.

"Calm down, David. I don't think you're SO connected like that that you feel each other's pain," Clarissa said.

Suddenly, Martin stepped on David's feet, making him yelp in pain and Ven as well.

"Or... maybe you are."

"Oh, no... I think they can't share the same essence anymore. It's either Ventus or David," Luna stated.

"Well... there is _ONE_ thing we can do," Athena said unsurely.

"You don't mean..." Hermia and Luna gave her a concerned look.

"What?" Chris asked.

"There's... a spell... that can split people's spirits. But... it's a risky spell. It's never been done without one or the other... dying."

Ventus and David gulped.

* * *

The crew went outside to think about this.

"You think it's a good idea? Sounds pretty dangerous."

"If we don't do something, both of them could get seriously hurt… or worse."

"But David could possibly die from the extraction. He's lived his whole life with Ven's fragment."

"That explains why they look so much alike. Or maybe Beowulf used to look like that as a teen too?"

"I'll do it."

"What?"

"I'll… I'll do it. I'll let you guys try this spell," David said.

"But… brother..." Elsa stammered.

"You can't do that to us," Sam shivered.

"Don't be selfish, please. Ventus needs this. I know it's risky… but I guess it's the only way." A tear escaped his eyes.

"David..." Ventus said. "Are you… sure of this?"

"It's time Beowulf helps that child he's been looking for." David put a hand on his shoulder. "I feel him in my heart, even though I don't have him as my subconscience."

Ventus didn't hesitate to hug David. He froze for a moment, but ended up hugging him too.

"Guys… can you leave us alone?" he asked.

"Oh, okay," Elsa said. "Hope it works." With that, the team left the room.

David and Ventus opened Athena's scroll with the spell.

* * *

Outside, Elsa and the Kratt Bros paced in anxiety. They could hear some mystical and strange sounds from inside, and see some kind of magical glow too. After a few minutes, it stopped. Athena opened the door and looked inside.

"It... It has been done," Athena announced. They listened, waiting for the results. The goddess of wisdom smiled. "And a miracle. They live." The team cheered in relief and Athena allowed them in.

Ventus felt a bit dizzy as the shock went away.

"Ven? Is that you?" a voice called. The apprentice started to open his eyes. He was receiving stares from everybody, even Hermia and Athena.

"What?" he asked them. That's when he noticed that his voice was lower.

With help from the bros, he stood up... to see he was taller. As tall as Sam, and he was taller than Martin. Looking down at himself, he saw a white robe with gold patterns. Aviva blushed a little, but she didn't know why.

"It... it worked!" Ventus cheered. "Oh my Muses! It worked!" He was so happy, he actually glomped the Kratt Bros, making them fall over.

"Ugh..." David stood up dizzy. Then, he saw Ventus, as he was helped by Clarissa. "Ven? Wow..."

The two made eye contact. David's eyes were now chocolate brown.

"Hmm..." Clarissa observed that detail. "You know... you look prettier brown-eyed." David blushed.

"Thanks, Clarissa." Ven came over to him. David had to look up. Both chuckled at the new height difference. "Well, _this_ will take a while to get used to. So much for you being the little bro."

"Well, chronologically, I've _always_ been the bigger brother," the taller dirty blond pointed out, ruffling his hair.

"Hey!" David backed away. "Just because you're taller now, doesn't mean you can do that!" Everyone else laughed.

"But seriously, David… I will be eternally grateful to you," Ven said.

"No problem. It was the least I could do, Ventus."

Ven looked back at the Kratt Bros, laughing. This gave him a thought. For things to really be like they used to.

"And Mom..." Hermia gave him her attention. "I want to ask you something." His mother gave him an understanding smile.

"You want to be with your brothers," she stated. He nodded. The team listened intently. "Then I have an assignment for you. As the first Air Guardian, you will be in charge of teaching Aviva new abilities, as well as aiding Wilhelmina in watching the Guardians." Ven's eyes glowed at that.

"So it's a yes?" With a nod, her son embraced her. "Thank you so much, mother!" Hermia kissed her on the forehead.

"Wow. Mom's gonna freak out," Martin whispered to Chris, who chuckled in response. Ven walked up behind them, and embraced both of his brothers. Tears dotted the corners of his eyes.

* * *

"What do you guys think?" Ven asked everyone as he exited the other room. The team along with Hermia and Luna looked in amazement. The apprentice wore a white version of Chris and Martin's jackets, only with a fully zipped collar. His khaki shorts were paler, but he had on the same boots.

"White's your color, all right," Koki commented.

"You're more like a Kratt Brother already," Martin said.

"It's _muy apropiado_ ," Aviva complimented. Ven blushed at that, rubbing the back of his neck. She blushed a little as well. She still didn't know why.

"Wow... what a day," Chris said.

"Yeah... too bad in a bit. Thinking about it, it WOULD be cool being the Seventh Kratt Sibling," David said.

"Hey, in our concept, you'll always be part of our family, buddy. We include everyone: friends, animals, mythical beings... there's room for everybody, if you ask us," Martin said.

"Thanks, dudes." Ven came up to him, holding up a fist for a brofist. And that's what they did.


	14. Episode 15: Brotherly Rescue

The team waited for Aviva to return from the Garage. Meanwhile, Gavin and Ronan told Mina about the Praying Mantis adventure.

"Aviva sure scared Zach a lot with her Praying Mantis power," Ronan laughed.

"Better saying "girl power". But I wonder how she had a CPS at that moment," Gavin wondered.

"Explanation in the Wild Kratts Diary: she used the same prototype suit from the Groundhog Wake-Up Call adventure," Mina explained. "It's written here that she kept it to use it in emergencies."

While Martin and Koki paced in impatience, the others were seated around the room.

"What is she doing down there?" Ventus asked.

"Probably a surprise invention," Chris suggested. "She doesn't let anyone see until it's done."

"And it is now!" the mechanic answered as she came up. She was hiding something behind her back. "Introducing... the White Creature Power Suit!" She brought up a black and white vest. It was slightly bigger than all the others she had made in the past. The crew looked in amazement.

"Wow, it looks more sleek than the others," Koki said. "And way prettier than your prototype suit."

"Well, that's because it's made of a different material. Remember our spider adventure?"

"Oh, how can I forget that one?" Martin commented. "The strength of the spider silk is incredible! One of the best Creature Powers ever made!"

"Well, it took many months of searching for normal, unused, synthetic spider silk and sewing, but I finally made a light, strong, breathable fabric that can withstand even the worst situations. And trust me, this is pretty thick with silk."

"Amazing," Ventus said.

"Thanks Ven, especially since this is _your_ Creature Power Suit." Ven was surprised and everyone smiled at him.

"Mine?" His face went a bit pink. Good thing no one noticed.

"Yes, yours. Why else would it be white?" Aviva came up to him and handed the Kratt in white the CPS.

"Oh-ho, you are so lucky Ven!" Chris congratulated him.

"I... I really don't know what to say..." The Hispanic chuckled.

"Just a thank you is fine."

"Well then... thank you, Aviva."

"Try it on, Ven!" Mina said. The dirty blond threw it on with ease. Then he stood up. The team went off commenting on how cool it looked on him.

"And an official creature adventurer is born!" Chris announced happily. Ven blushed at that.

However, Clarissa noticed that Martin had barely said a thing. All he mostly did was smile. This got her bewildered and worried.

"Hey, Martin… are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm okay," he quickly responded.

"And you're now good to go!" Aviva said after explaining to Ven the CPS' functions. He was now wearing matching gloves like the others.

"Oh, this is going to be great!" Chris cheered. "Our first creature adventure with our new brother!" But he didn't see Martin as enthusiastic as him, much to his surprise. He was only smiling nervously. "Martin, is everything okay?" The Water Guardian finally sighed.

"Well... I guess..." He looked at Ventus in a bit of shyness. "I don't know what to say to him."

"What do you mean?"

"Chris, you know for a fact that I was the first born in our biological family. First born meaning no older siblings. But, now that Ven is an adult again and is our brother once more..."

"Wait... are you sad about not being the big brother anymore?"

"No, no... well... maybe a little. It just feels so... foreign to me. I mean, even on the team, I've always been the eldest. Until Ven joined. I'm not complaining that he's on our team, I'm really excited. I'm just… unsure how I should act around him."

"Martin, it's easy."

"It's easy for you because you've _always_ been the little brother. Even in the past life, Terra was the youngest of the three. You're way more experienced with how you should hang around your older siblings."

"Martin, that's not what I fully meant."

Ventus couldn't hear most of what his brothers were saying, except "brother" and his name here and there. He worried about what they were talking about. And there was another thing on his mind as he fiddled with his gloved fingers.

"Something wrong Ventus?" David asked.

"Um... well... I guess... I'm worried," the assigned teacher of Aviva stammered.

"About what?"

"Well, I'm not completely positive that I'll be as good of a creature adventurer as Martin and Chris. And... I'm unsure if I'll still be the big brother I used to be or if they want that."

"Ven, you don't have to be as great of an explorer as them. They have years of experience with the CPS. And I'm sure whatever you do is fine by them."

"I know that. But... David, can I even be a good creature adventurer at all? Will I be able to help them?"

"You got lots of doubts floating in your head."

"I just don't want to lose them again. Because of me."

"Ventus... they told you a thousand times that it wasn't your fault."

"But the guilt's still there. And that makes it worse." He crossed his arms in insecurity. David sighed.

"Look, just… give it a shot. Who knows? Maybe you'll have fun."

"I never said it wouldn't."

"Well, we'll see you later. Since we're close to a city, we'll get some supplies that are missing. Plus, Jimmy and I have been needing some time for each other," Koki warned, gently caressing Jimmy's arm. "Didn't we, Jimmy?"

"Oh, boy… sure thing." Jimmy blushed like crazy.

"Besides, your mother must be waiting for you, kids. It's almost lunch time. We should probably get going," Aviva said. " _Hasta luego._ "

* * *

A few minutes later, the three took off on the buzz bikes. Ven was riding with Chris.

"Good luck, Kratt Bros!" Clarissa called. David waved to them as well.

"So Ven, are you excited?" Chris asked his passenger.

"A bit nervous here and there actually, but excited nonetheless," he responded.

"You're nervicited? Great! And trust me on this! You're gonna love it!" Martin tried to appear excited.

"I never said I doubted it! Wait. Is 'nervicited' even a word?"

"Uh… don't ask where he got that from." Martin huffed at him and with his medallion, he picked up some water from a puddle they passed and timed it right for it to splash on Chris's head. That certainly startled the Kratt in white. Unfortunately, his idea ended up causing them to lose control of the buzz bikes, making them crash into a rock. Luckily, it wasn't bent up. Just a scratch.

"Uh, nice coordination," Ven commented. "Shows you have fine control. But try to show some restraint. They could've blown up."

"But the buzz bikes are…" Martin said, but then looked away. "Um... forget I said anything."

"You know, we really should've gotten used to this by now," Chris sighed and Ven looked at Martin worriedly. It wasn't long before they reached a beach. Out in the sea, a huge whale leapt out of the water.

"Whoa!" Ven said.

"A humpback whale!" Chris exclaimed.

"It's huge!"

"Of course it's huge, silly. It's a whale."

"Sorry, I just never saw a whale before. You would expect this from me, after all, I've been trapped for millenniums."

"That's true. Come on, let's get a closer look." The brothers flew over the water to where they think the whale came up. "Usually, when there's one whale, there's lots. Some whales travel in family groups. They're called pods."

"Pods?" Ven chuckled. "Who came up with that?"

"Don't ask me."

"Look, some more are coming up for air!" Martin pointed out. One by one, whales came to the surface.

"See, Ven? That's why they're called humpback whales," Chris informed.

"Because they can bend their backs like that?"

"Exactly!"

"What's with the holes?" Ven asked.

"It's their breathing hole. They're not actually fish, so they don't have gills to get oxygen out of the water. Instead, like all non-fish species, they have to come to the surface for air. Animals like whales and dolphins have breathing holes on top of them so they can take in an immediate breath."

"Amazing."

"All in a day's work on the Wild Kratts team. Right, Martin?"

 _'I know absolutely nothing about creatures,'_ Ven mourned in his mind. _'Even Elsa and David probably know more than me.'_

"Um… yeah, right."

"I can't hear you, bro."

"I said right." Suddenly, a blast of water came from under him.

"There she blows!" Chris started laughing.

"Oh dear," Ventus muttered. "Uh, maybe we should head back to shore."

"Or do some whale riding!"

"Whale riding?"

"Yeah, it's fun! Right Martin?" The Kratt in blue came back down.

"Uh, of course. How is it not?"

"And I'm going first," Chris proclaimed.

"What? Why do _you_ get to go first?" Martin complained.

"Because I called it."

"I don't see anything wrong with it," Ven supported the brunet.

"But-" Martin was going to argue, but halted and sighed. "Okay. Just… be careful." Chris sighed at his blue eyed bro's low self-esteem again before putting his scuba helmet on.

"Take wheel, Ven."

"Wait, what?!"

"Come on, bro, you can do it!" The brunet brother ushered Ventus farther up the seat, putting his hands on the handles. "And Martin, if he needs help, don't hesitate to do so."

"Uh... okay."

"Be back in a bit!" Chris said, jumping into the water. He was now in the center of the pod. A baby humpback came up to him.

"Hi there, buddy. Got quite the big family here." The whale swam around him. "You certainly are cute. Now since Martin isn't here, what would be a good name for you?"

He then watched it do an underwater flip and then twirl. "Hmm… maybe Twirl. For now, I'll call you Twirl. Aviva sure should modify our whale disks for humpback, so I could feel what it's like to twirl like that."

The pod suddenly heard something. They looked behind them. Chris did the same. He gasped. "Sharks!"

Twirl dove into the water to try escaping. The sharks came charging. The bigger whales shook their tails to land a hit. The baby whale went back up to the surface for a brief moment.

Twirl reached the older brothers waiting on the beach quickly.

"Hey, buddy. What's up?" Martin asked. "You seem scared." Then, his marine creature telepathy kicked in.

"Huh… your name's Twirl? Chris is WHAT? Oh no, shark attack!" Martin gasped.

"Wha-wha-what's this? What's going on?" Ven asked.

"Oh, it's an ability I gained from an Elemental Crystal. I can hear marine animal by telepathy. Twirl here said that some sharks are going to attack the pod Chris is with! And the whales are now freaking out!"

"Oh, no. Oh, no! We gotta find him, quick!" Ven pointed out, rushing to the buzz bike. "Twirl, can you take us to him?" The humpback gave a whale call.

"He's not exactly sure. His pod is huge. Chris can be anywhere with them," Martin said. Ventus gulped, worried. "But we can try looking from the air." The two got on the bikes. Martin was about to say go, but he didn't want to look bossy in front of Ventus. Silently, the two took off.

* * *

Speaking of Chris, he rushed with the pod to a safe spot in the depths of the ocean, since the sharks couldn't swim as far down as they could.

"Phew... that was close! Good thing the whole pod was able to get away!"

Chris heard something beep on his suit.

"Oh no, I'm running low on air! I got to get to the surface!" However, as he was swimming up, something caught him. "Aaah!" The brunet fell onto an undersea ledge on the cliff. "Oh no! A ghost net! I can't move!" He struggled to loosen his binds, only for them to get tighter.

It was becoming harder for him breathe. "HELP!"

* * *

The elder brothers scoped the water's surface frantically. "Still no sign of him!" Martin said in worry.

"I can't see anything down there!" Ven complained.

"If only-... no, nevermind."

"Hold on." The two stopped on a seaside cliff. The eldest brother dismounted Chris's buzz bike and took off his helmet. "Is something wrong, Martin? Am I doing something wrong?"

"It's...not you Ven, it's me… I..." Martin took off his helmet.

"Martin, be honest with me. Am I not being a good creature adventurer?"

"What? You're actually doing great, bro! Much better then when Aviva and Koki first did."

"Then why won't you tell me what you're fully thinking? Like just moments ago, you didn't tell me your idea."

"I... I just don't know how you'll react. Because... I've never been a little brother before. I don't know if there's specific stuff I have to say, certain things I have to do, I just... don't want you mad at me at something I didn't know I was doing wrong." Ven was speechless.

"Oh… well, when you put it that way, I.. I admit I thought all this time _I_ wasn't doing something right. You didn't talk to me as much as when I was still a kid. You only conversed with Chris. I was thinking... that I wasn't being the big brother you wanted." It was Martin's turn to be speechless.

"And I was thinking that I wasn't being the _little_ brother you wanted. Or in our case, the little brother you wanted back."

"Martin..." Ven came up to him and gently ruffled his hair. "Just seeing you when we first met made me happy. And becoming your and Chris's official brother made me feel like the luckiest person on the planet."

"It did?"

"Absolutely. You _are_ Martin Kratt, but you're also Aqua. But _you_ decide which you want to be. And I'm fine with either choice you choose." Martin smiled, a tear in his eye. He rushed to embrace his big brother, finally comfortable around him.

"Now tell me. What was your idea?" Then, a winged silhouette flew by.

" _That's_ my idea." Martin pointed at the bird. "An osprey. Able to see fish silhouettes in the water with their incredible eyesight to cut out the sun's glare."

"Wow. never have I saw a bird so… magnificent."

"Give me a lift, I'll take care of the rest."

"Uh, okay." Ven knelt and held his hands out. Martin sprung off and managed to get a feather from the raptor.

"And now, the disk." He reached into his pockets, and was able to pick out the osprey disk. He placed it under the button.

"Activate Osprey Powers!"

"Ooh… I want a suit like this. Oh, wait… I have one." Ven took a matching disk out of his pocket. "Aviva made extra disks yesterday, at least that's what she said." Martin handed him the feather once he placed in the desk.

Once Ventus transformed, he saw his osprey suit was white. "Hm… I'm feeling weird..."

"That was mine and Chris's first reaction when we tried the suits for the first time. It is a little weird at first, but you'll get used to it." Ven nodded in understanding.

"Now let's fly and find our little brother!"

"Uh… first a very… quick flight lesson." Martin chuckled.

"Just give a good flap of the wings to take you up."

"But that's… a very steep drop." They both looked down the cliff.

"I've jumped off higher. And without any bird powers." Ven only gulped at that.

"I like heights, but this is a bit extreme."

"Come on Ven, you're a Kratt! We take on any challenge to save anyone or anything in need! And right now, our bro needs us!" Ven nodded, then opened his wings.

"Creature powers, don't fail me now!" With that, he jumped, wings out completely. Halfway down, he pulled up, instantly gliding over ocean. Soon, he was getting the way of the wings. "Woo-hoo!" He even started doing midair flips and sharp turns through the sky.

"Okay, it's official! I'm the swimming brother, Chris is the climbing brother, so that makes you the flying brother!" Martin announced.

"Well, I did always like the rush of air. And I've always been the kind of person that likes to go with the wind," Ventus joked.

"Ha! Good one, dude!" Martin chuckled, while scoping the water with his osprey sight (recently improved by Aviva). Then, he stopped, gasping. "Oh, no! I see him! He's trapped in a ghost net, and looks like he can't get free!"

"Oh no… if there's one thing I know is that these nets are terrible! You go after him. You're the swimming bro, then probably you can dive faster and deeper than me."

"And then you take it from there."

"Sounds like a plan!"

"To the Brother Rescue!" Martin pulled in his wings into diving position. Once a good distance from the water, he deactivated and dove in.

Chris was nearly giving up. Martin, determined to save him, started to rip the net. However, the brunet was too low on air to swim up himself. Martin let him ride on his back to the surface.

Chris took gasps of air once Ven got his helmet off with his talons.

"Easy, little bro… we're here," Martin said calmly.

"G-guys... thank you. I sure thought I was a goner," Chris said. His voice was a little scratchy from earlier lack of oxygen, which made his throat a little sore.

"Don't sweat it, brother. Uh... whatever that exactly means," Ven said and shrugged even with osprey powers. The two younger bros laughed a bit.

"Vincent Kratt aka Ventus, you have a LOT to learn about our world..." The dirty blond blushed in embarrassment.

"Let's just go home now. It's been quite a day."

"Okay, but I'm using osprey powers then." Chris placed in his disk and Martin handed him their sample. After he activated, the three waved good bye to the humpback whales and took to the skies. Once they grabbed the slightly dented buzz bikes, that is.

 _Martin (voice-over): Sure was a day full of misunderstandings and silence most of the time for all of us three brothers. But I learned that if none of us make a move, we'll never know what may happen."_

 _Ventus (voice-over): We also learned that we should never be scared of telling our family how we're feeling. After all, they're there for us, as much as we are for them."_

The two older bros made sure to keep a good eye on Chris, for he was very tired due to all that panic he went through during their whale adventure.

* * *

"Wow… all that happened and we missed everything?" Koki asked.

"Well, we should've been used to this, honey," Jimmy said.

"And I really should be used to by now you guys scratching up the buzz bikes," Aviva commented. "Well, nothing I can't fix."

Chris took some water to ease his burning throat.

"So if you guys talked to each other… and planned my rescue together... this means..." Chris put things together.

"Yup. No more misunderstandings between siblings." Ven put his hand on Martin's shoulder. The two brofisted.

Suddenly, Martin's medallion started glowing. "Huh?" The snowflake symbol appeared. Chris's medallion began to react too and the circle changed to the flower.

"What's happening?" Ven asked.

"This happens when the Sixth Element is very strong," Martin explained.

"The Sixth?"

"The Element with no definite form: Love," Chris said. "It comes in all forms, always shown in different ways, but always symbolizing the same thing."

" _Ven…?"_ a voice exactly like Martin's asked. The crew heard it and looked at him.

"I didn't say anything. It came from..." Suddenly, Chris and Martin knew exactly what to do. Touching Ventus' forehead, they concentrated on calling for their subconsciences.

 _Ventus saw himself deep within his mind. "What's this?"_

" _Ven?" he heard that voice again._

 _He looked back and saw… his two little brothers. "Aqua… Terra..." His eyes started tearing up, as he started to walk in his brothers' direction._

 _As they embraced, a white light started to illuminate the place._

Ventus recovered his conscience, just as the Kratt Brothers removed their hands from his head. They gave each other smiles, as Ventus wiped his tears. "They're still there… but how?"

"WE'LL tell you later." Chris rushed to embrace his big brother, trying to give him some comfort. Martin joined him shortly after.

Finally, the three brothers were together again… and no matter what danger in the future could come, they would face it as a team.


	15. Episode 16: Truth or Kokiquences

Koki and Aviva were visiting their old university. Nothing seemed that much changed. People passed by, carrying all kinds of decorations.

"School does look pretty smaller after graduation, huh?" Koki said.

"Yeah. I can't believe we're gonna see all of our previous classmates in the Brother-Sister reunion. And we can take all our friends too."

"Just hoping I don't see "her" again..."

"Her?"

"You know... Nancy Stiles."

"Oh, that bully that believed to be the prettiest girl in school? Just because she weared a lot of make-up, and always paid up the teachers to give her good grades?" Aviva joked.

"Yep. Ugh, she was plain annoying."

"Well, look who's here." A young woman with luxurious red hair and green eyes stared at the girls. "Koki Bambrick and Aviva Corcovado aka the Geek Pair!"

"Yeah... hi to you too, Nancy." Aviva said.

"So, you're working with two animal lovers now? How pathetic. Right, Roxy?"

"Um..."

"Of course it is."

Aviva grunted. "So many years and poor Roxy never gets a chance to speak."

"Oh, yeah?" Koki tried to defend herself. "Well, wait till ya see my brother in the Brother-Sister Reunion. You'll see how important he is."

"What?" Aviva asked.

"Oh… important? How important?" Nancy catched the word.

"Aw, didn't ya hear about him on TV?" Koki started to make up a story. "He's really rich, and important."

"Uh-oh..." Aviva gulped. "Uh, guess I gotta return to the HQ now. I'll see ya later."

* * *

Later, Aviva saw Koki rushing to set some kind of special cloth for the occasion. She sighed, just when the Kratt Brothers came back from a date with their girlfriends.

"Hey, Viva. What's up?" Chris noticed she seemed worried.

"I'm worried… Koki and I saw an old bully from the university… and she… started to lie to impress her."

"What?" Martin and Chris asked.

"Koki… lying? But she never lied before," Jimmy said. "She's always so honest."

"*sigh* That's because you don't know the girl we found. Nancy was terrible!" Just hearing that combo made Ven's blood boil. If there was one thing that he hated more than hurting people that didn't deserved it… was lies.

 _*flashback*_

 _"Back in the college days, I was a newbie there. It was everything so new and amazing to me. But eventually, Nancy started to bully me. During this, I met my roommate, Koki Bambrick._

 _"After short talks and lots of nights sharing experiment ideas, we became BFFs. But Nancy never left us alone. She would do anything to get to us, even ruining projects and one time even messed up Koki's DJ station. We were just lucky the university paid for the repairs out of their generosity."_

"Koki was a DJ?" Bite-Size asked.

"Yeah. But even after knowing about this, Nancy never left us alone. We ended up graduating, but she… I don't know for sure."

"I hope she got expelled for what she did," Jimmy said, his nails starting to dig into his skin. "That's plainly cruel!"

"I doubt that. She always said her father was rich, and even the director got afraid about what he would probably do. But thinking about it, we never actually saw her father before." Aviva admitted. "Anyway, I don't know what to do. I really want Koki to have a good time in the Brother-Sister Reunion. She sounded really excited about it."

Joey, who was passing by, heard about Koki and the Brother-Sister reunion.

"Oh, and probably you'll warn Antonio too."

"He already SAID he would come. The wax museum gave him some days off." Aviva guaranteed. "I sure can't wait for the day."

"Listen, we'll try talking with Koki, okay?" Chris said. Marin and Ventus nodded.

Joey didn't heard the rest of the conversation, but agreed in one thing. "Hm… ah also don't wanna see ma sister sad. Whateva she's plannin' for the day, I'm on it."

* * *

Finally, the day of the Brother-Sister Reunion arrived. Aviva arrived with Antonio, and Koki with Joey. Koki was dressed like a classy lady.

"So that's your university? It is pretty neat," Antonio commented, dull as always.

"You wait to see the decorations inside." Aviva assured.

"What's with him?" Joey whispered.

"Emotional problem. Long story," Koki said. "Anyway… I'm really happy that you came with me."

"Yeah, me too… but tell me, why are you dressed like that?"

"Well... um…." Then, she gasped as she saw Nancy. She looked really fancy with jewels on her neck and a longer dress. She pushed Joey aside, and stepped in front of her.

"Well… look who's here. You came really classy, Koki," Nancy admired.

"Oh, t-thank you." Koki tried to not seem nervous. Joey just stared, not getting what was going on.

"So… where's your brother?"

"Um… he'll come later," she whispered, so Joey wouldn't hear.

"Oh… got it. He's really rich and powerful, so he comes whenever he wants."

"Oh… yeah, that's it."

"Fine, I'll wait inside. See you there." Once Nancy turned away, Koki sighed of relief.

"Uh… who's she?" Joey asked.

"N-no one important. Uh, Joey, could you follow me back to the Tortuga for a moment?" Koki signalized to her brother.

* * *

Soon as they were in the Tortuga, Koki rushed to the closet, pulling out stylish clothes she made.

"Me? Dress like this? Why?" Joey asked.

"I… only thought you could be better dressed up for this occasion. This is a gala. You wouldn't like to… um, look ugly in front of the others, would ya?"

"Hmm.. g'd point. Fine. I'll do it. But I usually hate tuxes." Koki smiled. as her brother picked up the clothes she made.

Ventus came in, also getting dressed up to go with his brothers.

"Uh, I'll be there in a moment. Just wait for me outside." Joey nodded and left the room. Once he left, Ventus stared at Koki.

"Koki… isn't this… a little ungrateful on your part?"

"I'm not thanking anything, Ven. It's really simple: if Nancy becomes my friend, everyone else will. And then no one's gonna pick on me again."

"But you're noty even studying there anymore."

"I know. But I saw that day that anything Nancy says around people, even after the school days, tends to make everyone obey and agree. If she knew my brother is not rich and famous, she would make everyone bother me!"

"Are... you... nuts?" Ventus growled slowly. "Nothing is worse than lying. Especially about your siblings."

"But it's my only option. Please, Ventus. You got to keep this a secret. Don't tell it to Joey."

"Ugh… fine," Ventus sighed. He had to try kepping calm, for he knew that he could get loud (to not say "ear shattering") when ticked. "Just try not to make up too much." Koki nodded, secretly crossing her fingers.

"I'm ready, sis. Can we go now?" Joey called.

"I'm going, Joey!" Koki said, rushing to meet her brother.

"I'm not liking a bit how this is going." Aviva came in. Ventus blushed as her voice called his attention.

"Oh… yeah, me neither."

* * *

*BG music: Iggy Azalea - Fancy (clean version)*

Koki and Joey entered the school stadium, in fancy clothes. While he explored everything that place had, Koki kept making up stories about how her brother was famous, and how she was rich and popular as well.

Aviva only stared, worried about her. The three Kratt Bros facepalmed, not believing how Koki was acting silly. Jimmy gulped, just as worried as Aviva.

"Gee, look at Koki," Chris observed. "She doesn't look like herself anymore."

"You said it. She started with a simple lie about her brother, and then..." Martin said.

"My brother also invented oxygen. That's why anytime you breath, he earns money." The people gasped. "Paying up."

"Okay, now this is startin' to get absurd!" Aviva grunted. Ven could nod in agreement while holding in the urge to shout. "I can't believe she came so far!"

"Tell me about it!" Joey came over, not knowing what was going on. "Can't believe they don't have hot dogs in that whole buffet!"

Martin and Chris were starting to worry about Ven when they noticed his nails starting to dig into his skin from squeezing in anger of how Koki was lying about her brother. Jimmy found himself in the same situation, after trying to talk to her.

"Jimmy, what happened?"

"I tried speaking to her, and she simply gave me the cold shoulder," the redhead complained.

"Ah, possibly she's just tryin' to recconect with ol' friends," Joey said, still oblivious to the situation. The younger Kratt Brothers could literally start seeing steam coming off their older bro.

"Hey, you're Joey, right?" someone called.

"Oh, yeah… why?"

"Can you get me a job? You know, since you're so rich and famous..."

"Uh… wha? I don't get it."

"Can you get me a part in your next videoclip?"

"Uh..."

"Koki said..."

"She said that, and then I thought... "

As people came closer, all speaking at the same time, confusing Joey, who wasn't getting a clue about what was going on. The two bros backed away from Ven, fearing he was ready to blow at any second.

"Enough!" the dirty blond finally shouted. Pushing through the crowd, he yanked Joey out and moved him to an empty corner in the gym. "She's lying about you to get people to like her!" Then he covered his mouth, gasping. The Kratts in blue and green reinforced it. Everyone turned to him, startled. Good thing they didn't know what he was talking about.

"What?!" Joey snapped, finally getting what was going on. He roughly grabbed his sister's wrist. "Sis, ah need a word with ya. NOW." He dragged her out of the room.

"Ooh… looks like as rich as he is, he'll surely dismiss her as his sister… and possibly hire me, Roxy," Nancy giggled. "This can be my first step to fame around the world!" Roxy just looked at Koki.

"Oh, bro..." Martin groaned.

"Sorry. I never been the kind that likes hiding things either," Ventus sighed, knowing he really messed up.

' _Except one thing,_ ' he thought, looking at Aviva, and blushing a little as she came to him.

"Uh… not to worry, everyone. It was only a nervous breakdown," she made up something to save Ventus from embarrassment. "Are you okay?"

"A little. Just… still a bit shaken up by what Koki did. Had to let off a lot of steam."

"And your face is still a bit red." She touched Ven's forehead. "And you're pretty warm. You sure you're okay?"

"U-uh… yeah, s-sure." Ventus looked away, with a weak smile.

* * *

"You did what?!"

"I… I told them you were rich and fancy, so they wouldn't hate or bully me! There, I said it!" Koki admitted.

"How could you plan something like this?!" Joey snapped. "I never would expect this from someone like you! You're usually honest, and never afraid to speak your opinion!"

"Why not?! I thought you wanted to make me happy!" Koki scolded.

"I want to make my sister happy … but this girl that lies just to impress a bunch of bootlickers's surely not her," Joey said. "You can say whatcha want… but ah'm not bein' part of this anymore."

He gave her the suits she made, and started to walk away. "What's more important to ya, Koki… having people who care, or lying to impress a bunch of self-seekers? Ya think about this."

Koki gulped, as her brother left. Her heart felt heavy like a rock as she looked outside. The setting orange sun shined through the open window. The light got in Koki's eyes, making them glow orange.

"Oh, no… what have I done?" Her eyes filled with tears.

She closed her eyes in distress and fell to her knees, then something called her from the inside.

* * *

 _She opened her eyes, and saw herself in a white place._

 _"Huh? Where am I?"_

 _"In your mind. Where else?" a voice identical to her own replied. Koki turned around. A woman exactly like her in orange and gold was standing not too far._

 _"Rose? Lemme guess… you're my subconscience."_

 _"Yup. And I know how you feel, darling." Out of nowhere, a good sized rock appeared and the fire nymph sat down on it._

 _"You.. do?"_

 _"Yes… you know… back in the days, I did something like what you did to Joey with my boyfriend Pyce."_

 _"What? But why?"_

 _"By the same reason you did that with Joey: to gain unneeded respect from my few elder sisters and the gods' apprentices. I wasn't worthy of the Element of Generosity at that time."_

 _"Wow… guess I'm not being worthy at all of the element either."_

 _"I know it's normal for us to be embarassed about our families, or someone we like… but lying to impress someone that's actually not interested at all isn't fair. I had to learn that the hard way. Pyce got upset with me, but happily we made amends."_

 _"Yeah… you're right."_

 _"You also show generosity by being grateful for what you have in your life. It's not just about giving away without wanting something in return."_

 _"Now I really wish I could fix what I did."_

 _"It's never too late to make amends, Koki." Rose stood up and walked up to her new life. "I was worried at first that Pyce wouldn't forgive me for my lies, but I was proven wrong. And the other close ones in my family forgave me too."_

 _"You're lucky. My friends took a while to forgive me after certain… boo-boos." Koki sighed._

 _"But they're still your friends. REAL friends. Friends that accept ALL your sides." Rose pointed out._

 _"Yeah… you're right." The two held out their hands and clasped. "Thanks Rose."_

" _Always here to help."_

 _Soon, the place started to glow intensely._

* * *

"Koki...? Koki!" someone called. The Fire Guardian awoke on the floor. She sat up.

"Huh? Oh… hi, Viva."

"Inner chat?"

"First one ever."

"Oh… well, I heard you and Joey had a… fight, and… I came to see how you were. But of course, I found you on the floor, passed out with your eyes glowing white before they closed."

"Now I sure know how the bros feel." Koki looked at the door. "Excuse me. I need to fix this mess. But.. can you bring someone here again?"

* * *

Koki entered the room, dressed in her usual clothes. Apparently, people forgot about that thing with Ventus, believing Aviva's story.

"Oh, Koki. Where is your chic dress? Are you so fancy you even need to hide it?" Nancy teased. "And your fancy brother? Where is h… uh, Koki, don't turn your back to me." Koki started to head to the stage. By that moment, Joey entered with Aviva.

Seeing he returned, Koki grabbed the microphone on the stage. "Hey... is this thing on? Can you guys listen to me for a moment, please?" she said, calling everyone's attention. She took a deep breath.

"I LIED! My brother isn't a rich rapper, or a millionaire, or any of the "astonishing" things I said! But before you complain or throw stuff at me... I want to say that although he's not this way... he's still the best brother ever. And I gotta apologize not only about lying to him… but to myself as well."

Joey smiled as he heard those words. "Now that's mah sister."

"Truth is... I'm a nerd. And all my life I've been laughed at and made to feel inferior. Why? Because I'm smart? Because I'm different? Well, I'm not. I'm a nerd... I'm a member of a team… and I'm pretty proud and grateful about that."

She closed her eyes, fearing about what could happen, but… nothing came.

"Ha! I knew it. It was too good to be true." Nancy mocked. "Koki is and always have been a nerd!" She looked around and saw she was the only one micking Koki. "So? Hello?"

Aviva stood on the stage and held the mic. "I'm a nerd too. And she's right. Despite all problems some members of our team cause sometimes, I am also proud about who I am and the people I have in my life."

"A good friend taught me that you have to be grateful for what you are, not for what you have. I kinda knew this already… but had to relearn it the hard way."

Roxy rushed to the stage. "I agree! And I know there's more people who tell lies just to impress someone here tonight. Isn't that right... Nancy?"

Nancy gasped, as the Kratt Bros. turned the spotlight on by "accident". "Roxy… quiet..."

"You didn't hate Koki at all back in our college days. You just felt envy about her skills, so you made puns and mocks to make her look inferior," Roxy said. "You haven't changed at all since then. And I still had my blind faith in you."

"B-but… s-shut..." Nancy felt herfelt being exposed. It was true.

"You call yourself popular and rich, Nancy? Why not telling the truth about your mother working at an antique shop and your father as a chef? And that the money you said you had was only for a short time, when you thought you won the lottery?"

Nancy stammered for a bit, then started crying and left the place.

"What? I lived long enough by her side to know all the truths about her," Roxy said. "Gotta thank you for this, Koki. Guess I wouldn't have stand up for myself, if it wasn't for you."

"You're welcome."

"Here. I guess you should have it back." Roxy gave her back that pair of glasses from her DJ era."Why don't you bless us with some good beats, Techno Queen?"

Koki stared at the team, and her brother, who nodded.

"Then let's get this party startin'!"

* * *

Later, everyone was leaving the building, for that was a exhausting night. Aviva had to carry her brother on her shoulders.

"Joey... I'm sorry again," Koki said. "I was wrong in trying to change you in such a way. I was thinking so much about all that's bad about you... that I forgot everything that makes you a good brother."

"Yeah... even after all those years… yer still the same as eva, Koki," Joey said. "Stubborn, tempermental… but never refuses a true friend… and a hug from yer brother."

The siblings smiled at each other and embraced each other. Then, a look of realization came to him. "Oh, almost forgot." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a necklace of shiny orange stones. The center was a reddish orange jewel that looked like it was broken. Still, it was beautiful.

"Ah made this ba my own. Ah was goin' to give ya earlier, but then... av'rythin' happen'. Sorry it isn' perfect as yer jacket was, but..."

"Are you kidding? This is the most beautiful thing anyone ever gave me," Koki said tearfully. Her brother helped put it around her neck. She could've sworn she felt a spark of power surge through her. But she decided to ignore it for now. "Thank you, Joey."

Both brother and sister gave each other another loving hug.

The three Kratt siblings observed them together and smiled.

 _Koki (voice-over): Being grateful can inspire generosity because it makes you aware of all of the great things you have in your life. If you are able to appreciate all that you have, you'll be more likely to share some of those great things with others, to help them appreciate life as well. I can guarantee: I am really, really, really lucky of having Joey as my big brother, and friends like the Wild Kratts._


	16. Episode 17: What If!

It was a calm afternoon on the Tortuga. The crew was really bored, except for Aviva, who was working on one of her inventions.

"Whatcha doin', Aviva?" Chris asked.

"Trying to fix the Time Trampoline. After we sent those last two predators back to their time, it got on the fritz."

"Hmm… and how are you doing?" David asked.

"Well… not that good. But one thing that Anomaly thing inspired me to do is another time-related device," Aviva said. "Ta-da!" She showed them a circular structure. "A Time Window. It was one of my first prototypes before I built the Time Trampoline, but after some adjustments, it became something way more amazing, thanks to David and Elsa. What first was supposed to be a time-travel window became a window to alternate universes."

"Cool!" Chris exclaimed. "Now that's a good way to express a "What If?"."

"We won't be disturbing these "alternate universes", would we?" Ven asked in uncertainty.

"No. We'll just be able to see them. We can't really go there."

"Why don't we check one of them?" Martin asked.

"Hmm… don't see why not. But just for you to know, contact is still a bit unstable so there might be some glitches along the way." Aviva activated the Time Window. The screen started to show an image.

"Hey, looks like… the Mom of a Croc expedition."

* * *

" _Operation Croc Nest starting." Chris observed. "Aviva, is everything ready?"_

" _Almost done. Hope you guys are ready for the operation. We're ready to work," Aviva said. "Can't wait for you guys to show me this mother croc in action."_

 _"Honestly, Aviva, what's there to like about a giant, creepy reptile that snaps at everybody around?" Koki complained. "Can't believe you got me into this."_

"Oh, boy… this AU's about ME hating crocs," Koki sighed.

" _Aw, you're exaggerating," Jimmy said._

" _Am I?" Koki pressed a button, bringing up a snapping croc on the screen. Jimmy screamed and hid behind Aviva. "Ha! See? You don't like them too!"_

" _Sure I do! When they're far away from me."_

" _Don't give a bother, JZ. Teleport this to the guys, please?"_

" _On it!"_

" _You guys really think I'm gonna start liking them just because she's gonna lay eggs?" Koki said._

" _It's not only about the eggs, silly. You'll see," Aviva said._

* * *

The screen started to glitch.

"Hey!" The Kratt Brothers complained.

"Like I said, unstable connection. It will return to normal shortly."

* * *

" _Wow. Check out those teeth. 64 dagger teeth. Twice as many as we have. Good thing we look more like a couple of eggs."_

 _"See? Why keep doing this if you're saying that…" Koki appreared via hologram._

" _I'm observing, Koki. Totally different thing," Chris sterny answered, and the girl grunted before turning off. "Geez."_

* * *

" _She's burying her eggs and leaving it there! I said it: they're cold-hearted creatures, guys!"_

" _Already? Come on, Martin! We gotta hurry!"_

" _Huh, what?"_

" _Koki, she's a reptile, and they lay eggs like this to keep them warm and to make them develop. Come on, hurry, Chris!" Martin rushed his brother._

" _I'm going!" Chris followed Martin, as Koki rolled her eyes before disappearing._

* * *

" _Guys! We're losing contact," Aviva said._

" _She's stomping the sand. Looks like she's going to bury them," Jimmy observed._

" _I said it was a bad idea. We should have never trusted th-" Koki was starting to complain again, until Aviva cut her speech._

" _Wait! We got the signal again," she said._

* * *

 _"Hunf! TOLD YA! What kind of mother leaves her eggs for predators? An irresponsible and scary mother!" Koki yelled, seeing the monitor lizard take one of the eggs._

" _Or the kind that's close enough to rush to the rescue!" Aviva pointed out. "Get that thief, Crocodilla!"_

* * *

" _Okay, okay... I admit I was wrong believing she left her eggs alone... but still not convinced," Koki said._

" _Oh, yeah? Well, for your information, monitor lizards aren't the only ones that like crocodile eggs." Aviva showed her. "Storks, honey badgers and even baboons also try stealing them when they have a chance."_

* * *

" _Well, I… gotta admit she's dedicated..." Koki said, while speaking with Jimmy._

" _Uh, guys? Where is she?" Aviva asked._

" _Huh? Don't tell me she's gone." Koki asked seeing the screen._

 _They scanned the area, and saw Crocodilla in the river._

" _Too good to be true. Knew she was going to leave them." Koki appeared in another hologram._

" _Koki, she's just trying to cool off. She's cold-blooded, remember? There's no other way for her to cool off than rushing to the water."_

" _Hmm... well, fine… but she IS returning for the eggs, isn't she?"_

" _Sure, silly... uh, if she passes by them." Chris pointed to a herd of hippos up river._

" _Uh... what do you mean?" Aviva asked. "Don't tell me crocs and hippos are rivals?"_

" _Don't tell me she's gonna hurt them!"_

" _KOKI!" Aviva scolded._

 _The hippo turned to Crocodilla. Koki and Aviva's holograms disappeared, as Chris gulped. Crocodilla quickly turned away, fooling the hippo._

" _Woo-hoo! Way to go, girl!" Chris said after Crocodilla escaped the hippos. "You showed those brutes!"_

" _Wow, that was impressive," Aviva said._

" _Yeah, crocs are mean, but can't handle hippos," Koki said._

 _"What?! No! I was speaking about how she fooled them. I think that was smart."_

" _And I think you should create something to keep this monster in line," Koki said, turning her back._

 _"Koki, that's not fair! THEY went after Crocodilla! She was just minding her own business!" Aviva yelled, getting upset._

" _She's not listening to you..." Jimmy said, as Koki left. Aviva huffed. It was impossible to discuss with Koki._

" _Well... but she did give me a good idea just in case we need to get close..."_

* * *

"Hey, I'm not THAT bad! Am I?" Koki asked. Not wanting to answer, the Kratt Bros whistled.

* * *

" _Come on, Koki, spill it out," Aviva said, as she worked on her new invention. "Crocs DO have a good side."_

" _*sigh* Well... I admit I'm impressed about the turtle mom knowing that the croc will guard her eggs too. It's just that... the crocs only seem to always snap their jaws..."_

" _Well, their jaws are needed... for protection and hunting."_

" _Yeah, but... if she showed a little less of her teeth, I would thank a lot."_

* * *

 _Koki saw the baby croc on her creaturepod._

 _"Aww… I have to admit they're pretty cute," Koki said, seeing the baby reptile. "But what's that sound?"_

" _Wait...they're calling for their mom!" Chris concluded. "Keep calling, kids!"_

" _Everyone, louder!" Martin cheered, also imitating a baby croc._

" _Guys! She heard you!" Aviva warned, seeing Crocodilla wake up and dig._

" _Oh my gosh! She's gonna take you out from there!" Koki said. "Hmm... guess I was wrong after all..."_

* * *

" _Eating her own babies? I knew it! I knew it all along!" Koki yelled. "AGH! But why? WHY is she eatin' her own babies after all that work!?"_

" _It's fine! Some crocs are cannibal, but she's not eating them," Chris assured. "She's just pickin' them up. And very gently because of her sharp teeth."_

" _Oh..." Koki stared. "B-but..."_

" _Pretty confy inside here." Martin said, inside Crocodilla's mouth. "And how nice of her: she's even carrying the baby turtles. Well, we are all ready to go."_

" _So where are you going?" Aviva asked out of curiosity._

" _To the water!" Chris said. "Full croc speed!"_

" _Uh... Koki? Are you okay?" Aviva asked, seeing Koki with her eyes big._

" _I... I don't know what to say... I'm so... so..."_

 _"Lemme guess. Creeped out?" Jimmy asked._

" _NO! I'm impressed! I was being so stupid doubting croc moms when actually they're the greatest!" Koki embraced Jimmy._

* * *

" _Uh… guys! Look who's back!" Aviva pointed out. It was the monitor lizard._

" _They don't only like the eggs… they also think the babies are pretty tasty!" Martin said._

" _Then what are you waiting for?! Be croc moms and send this jerk away!" Koki appeared near Aviva._

" _YOU'RE protecting the crocs? Can't believe it," Aviva smiled, staring at Koki._

" _I'll be fast: you were right, I was wrong, crocs are great! Now DO SOMETHING!" Koki shouted._

" _Uh… just to remind you, we don't have a croc power suit," Martin said._

" _Wait! Actually you do. A prototype gharial croc disk I made when we passed by Asia," Aviva said, as Chris searched for the disk. "I promise I'll adapt it better when we finish this mission, but for now, it must work. Rapido!"_

" _Worth to try," Chris said, as the girls tried to hurriedly finish the invention._

* * *

" _All aboard the Hippo Sub!" Aviva said. The bros immediately jumped in, and moved away of Crocodilla's way. She started to place her babies in the water._

" _Nice job, Crocodilla," Koki said, as they observed the croc mom in the Creaturepod. "Now I know that if someone tells me my mom's a croc, I actually gotta thank it!"_

* * *

" _You were right. Croc moms ARE great! Really dumb of me to judge them so severely," Koki said, as they observed Crocodilla with her babies. "There really IS something more than jaws and cold blood in them. It's impressive how caring and protective they are with their babies."_

" _Cold blood, but really warm hearts," Aviva said. Koki couldn't agree more._

* * *

"Wow… I knew I was brute… but not like that," Koki gulped.

"Well, things _can_ be different according to your choices," David pointed out. "Why not checking another timeline to see what I mean?"

* * *

 _"Oh… a bite-sized little brown bat!" Martin saw the critter on his hand. Koki came close to look at him. "That's what I'll call him: Bite-Size!"_

 _"Aww… he's so cute," she said._

 _"Cute?!" Aviva complained. "Are you kidding?! It's a blood-thristy, rabies-infected, vicious monster!"_

 _"What?!" Koki said. "Who told you all these dumb things?!"_

 _"My grandma told me." Jimmy said._

 _"JZ, Gramma Jimmena may know a lot about cooking, but not a bit about bats," Chris said, while Koki held Bite-Size in her hands._

" _I didn't knew you were afraid of harmless and cute little bats." Koki said._

" _I'm not afraid. It's just misgiving." Aviva said._

* * *

 _"Yeah, you gotta be a little brown bat facing a herd of blood-thristy mosquitoes who want to take over the world!" Jimmy said, excited about creating a new video-game._

 _"Good idea, JZ. I would love to play this videogame. Plus, Bite-Size's guano would be great for my zucchini plant," Koki pointed out, bringing her zucchini plant in. She couldn't wait for him to make that chocolate zucchini bread._

 _Aviva just mumbled._

 _"Come on, Aviva, can't you see this little buddy here may also be a benefit with all these mosquitoes attacking us everyday?" Koki asked._

 _"Don't be scared," Martin said._

 _"Scared? I told you: I'm not afraid! It's just misgiving." Aviva said, but once Bite-Size flied on her direction, she yelled and ducked._

 _"Don't give a bother, guys. Like Crocodilla, it'll take a while for her to be used to bats as well," Koki said. Aviva just grunted, sitting on her chair and turning to her computer._

 _"Koki, i'm afraid he can't be here for long. You know, Aviva, you could make a bat power disk, so we could fly with him." Martin asked._

 _"No, niet, NEVER! Crocs and raccoons, okay, but never a blood-thristy monster disk!" she yelled, moving her arm, and knocking Koki's plant down, breaking the pot. Koki stared angrily at her._

 _"Shame on you!" She bumped Aviva out of the way and picked two blank disks. "Here, guys. Activate touching Bites."_

" _Thanks, Koki," Chris said. Then, Bite-Size hung upside down on his finger._

* * *

" _Fine. You got your suits, Bat brothers. Now miniaturize yourselves and take this monster away!" Aviva waved her arm, scaring Bite-Size._

" _AVIVA!" Koki scolded._

" _Bite-Size, wait!" Martin called. "She didn't meant that!"_

" _Don't lose him. Good luck. See ya in the morning," Koki said, wishing them luck as they left._

* * *

 _"Look, is that Bite-Size?" Martin pointed out._

 _"No, that one is a bigger bat," Chris observed. "There goes Bite-Size. Where is he going?" He saw their bat friend heading to another direction._

 _"I'll go with him," Martin said. "Go with the other bat."_

 _Both brothers agreeed, and they went separate ways._

* * *

 _"Are you gonna look like this for the rest of the night? No offense," Jimmy asked._

 _"Just until she apologizes," Koki mumbled. "She broke my zucchini plant's pot and expelled Bite-Size with such ignorance! Just because she was afraid of him!"_

 _"How many times do I have to say it?! I'M NOT AFRAID!" Aviva shouted. "It's just misgiving." She shivered._

 _"Yeah, right… you said the same about crocodiles," Koki said._

 _"Hey, I was doubting they could be good mothers," Aviva defended herself._

 _"And it's not different from what just happened, Aviva! You're just ignoring the chance of learning something by embracing stupid, fake facts!" Koki pointed out._

 _"Koki just took the words from my mouth," Martin said, arriving at the HQ. Bite-Size simply saw Aviva and hid behing the computer screen. Aviva just sighed, slowly understanding the mistake she made._

 _"Hey, where's Chris?" Jimmy asked._

 _"He was following another bat to somewhere," Martin said._

 _"Maybe… we should contact him," Aviva said. On the screen, they saw Chris asleep with some other bats, inside an old tree._

 _Aviva at first saw all those bats, and thought about turning off, but then, she started to observe them. "Hmm… guess they're not THAT scary..."_

 _"Uh-oh! Trouble!" Koki said. "A thunderstorm's coming up, and it'll hit the bats' lair… "_

 _A thunder sound was heard by all of them. Koki looked at the screen: they lost communication. Once the flycam was reactivated, they saw the bats' tree was hit by a lightning._

 _"NO!" Martin gasped._

 _"Oh, no! Chris!" Aviva panicked._

 _"I'm okay," Chris said, breathing heavily. "Don't worry. I'm okay." Martin sighed of relief, and so did the crew. "But I wouldn't say the same about my bat buddies." He looked at the destroyed tree. The bats were all huddled on the ground._

 _"Oh, no… this is all my fault…" Aviva felt like crying. "If only I haven't been so stupid… and afraid…"_

 _"Calm down, Aviva. I don't think any of us could prevent this lightning," Chris said. "And neither the sun!" He saw the sun was coming._

 _"Oh, no. On daylight, bats are way more vulnerable to predators!" Martin pointed out. "We need to find a place for the bats to stay."_

 _"But they're going all directions!" Chris said, seeings his bat buddles fly away. "Wait, guys! We'll find a way!"_

 _"Wait… you know who's also in all directions?" Koki said. "Wild Kratts Kids! They may find a way to help us!"_

 _"*gasp* I have a bat box plan on my backpack! Maybe we can send it to the Wild Kratts Kids around," Chris remembered. Jimmy followed Chris' instructions and got the bat box plan quickly._

 _"I'll warn the kids!" Koki said. Aviva looked at the plan, and knew just what to do._

* * *

 _"It's working! All bats are quickly reaching bat boxes around the world." Koki said._

 _"Yay!" Aviva cheered, bringing a bat box of her own, surprising Koki and Jimmy._

 _"It was the least I could do. Not only for you…but for him as well…" Aviva said, seeing Bite-Size looking from behing the computer screen, and flying to the bat box._

 _"Does this mean you forgive me?" she asked him._

 _"Totally," Chris said, returning to the Tortuga and landing in Martin's hand._

 _Aviva showed Koki her plant, in a brand new pot._

 _"You not only helped those bats, but my plant as well. Now I really forgive you," Koki embraced her. "This will sure be a great time for my zucchinis!"_

 _"You were right all along. Now I REALLY swear I won't doubt a creature ever again." Aviva crossed her fingers. Bite-Size flied to her shoulder. She looked at him, blankly, then smiled._

 _"You know, Koki? You were right. He is cute." She chuckled, while Bite-Size chirped._

* * *

"Well… things could have gone like this too," Koki said. "*sigh* Sorry, it's just a thing that never leaves me alone."

"I get your point. Some adventures leave huge scars," Martin said.

"Like the Tazzy Chris adventure," Chris said.

"Did you have to remind me?" Koki sighed.

"Oh… speaking about Tazzy Chris..." Aviva said, pressing some buttons.

* * *

 _"T-Bone! Wait up!" Martin called for the little t-devil. He saw his new friend biting on another bone. Suddenly, a bigger t-devil snarled at him and T-Bone fled to Martin. The Kratt in blue picked him up._

 _"You okay, pal?" he asked the little marsupial. T-Bone took a sniff at Martin's suit and bit the button. Martin heard a crunch and gasped when he saw his pal's teeth in the button, making it spark._

" _Hey! Does my Creature Power Suit smell like carcass?" Martin pulled T-Bone out and placed him back on the ground. "Hope it didn't cause something ser-" Suddenly his suit started to glitch._

* * *

"Tazzy Martin?" Martin gasped. "Hm, interesting."

* * *

 _"Martin! Martin, where'd you go?" Chris called. He then saw his brother about to eat dead meat, and pulled him by the tail. The two fell onto their backs. Martin's suit deactivated._

 _"Hey! What was that for?" the blond asked._

" _You were about to eat dead meat, bro! I know you're hungry, but there must be a snack in your backpack."_

" _I would never eat rotten meat," Martin complained in disgust. Then, Chris saw his brother's power suit sparking._

" _Hey... what happened to your suit?"_

" _T-Bone happened. Nothin' to worry-" Martin assured, but then his suit started glitching again._

" _Whoa! You're becomin' a T-devil! Look!" Chris showed him a mirror. Martin growled at his reflex, but then realized it was him._

" _Wow! There IS something wrong with my suit," Martin said. "Hmm... but gotta admit I do look good."_

" _Yeah, kinda," Chris said, ruffling his big brother's hair. Martin started tapping his feet on the ground, panting like a dog._

 _Chris chuckled. "Guess this is gonna be fun... but better let Aviva know."_

* * *

" _Wait a minute." Chris picked up some dead meat. Martin felt his suit glitch. In a blue glow, he was all tazzied again. Chris then held the carcass away from him as Aviva gasped._

" _Told ya. He's goin' all tazzy."_

" _Oh, boy..." Aviva said. "Well, try keeping an eye on him if the suit glitches again. I have someone to convince here. But I think you'll be fine." She turned off._

 _Chris groaned, having to follow his tazzied brother as he followed T-Bone. "How am I supposed to tag the t-devils if I have to babysit a Tazzy Martin?"_

 _Martin picked up one of the tags, and placed the tag on T-Bone's ear with his mouth. "There you go," he growled._

" _Hmm... well, maybe it won't be a worry," Chris observed. "Good boy." He patted Martin on the head._

* * *

 _"Martin! You made me drop one!"_

 _"Oops *growl*. I'll get it." Martin rushed to grab the tag. But then his suit glitched again and he came face to face with another t-devil. The two started snarling and growling at each other._

" _Got it." Chris picked up the tag and placed it on the T-devil quickly. "Easy, boy... easy..."_

* * *

The Kratt in green laughing at this version of himself treating his tazzy brother like a dog. It made him remember about Heidi.

"It's not funny, at least I don't drool on you and am easy to tame," Martin told him.

* * *

 _"What's with this craving for uncooked deli?" Martin asked._

" _Oh, boy... your T-devil side's knockin' on the door again," Chris said._

 _"My what? Come on, bro. I know I was behaving weird in my tazzy form but I'm in control now. Honest." T-Bone passed by. His suit glitched again._

" _Or… maybe not..." Chris groaned, going after them. "Wait up, dude!"_

* * *

" _From up here, I can see a l..." Martin lost his ballance and eventually fell._

 _"Only the young t-devils can climb trees, bro. Besides, you're not the climbing brother." Chrius scolded._

" _Got it," Martin said after he glitched back._

* * *

" _It's Zach's plane!" Chris recognnized it._

" _What's he doing here?" Martin wondered, as he observed his reflection. "Gosh, my vision as a T-devil's good. It's only black-and-white, but I think it might be helpful in this case. Hang on," Martin said. He let his brother hop onto his back before he leaped and grabbed the edge._

" _Zach's placing the T-devils in his weird new robots," Chris observed, and Martin gasped before growling in anger, and returning to the ground._

" _Easy, boy... let's call the team." Chris ruffled Martin's hair. "Koki, Zach has them all."_

* * *

 _Martin rolled on Chris's lap, and the Kratt in green ruffled his fur._

" _I admit it was fun having a tazzy bro, but we really have to deactivate him," Chris told Aviva. "He did help me tag them, but I'm getting tired of keeping him from eating dead meat or picking a fight with other t-devils."_

 _Chris ruffled his tazzy bro's hair, making Martin sit up when he saw Aviva coming with a screwdriver. "Hold on, guys. Guess I could be helpful in my new status. T-devils are really misunderstood," he growled._

" _Hey! Watch it!" Aviva complained._

 _"What? I would never hurt anyone."_

" _Hey... Martin's right. We really did see that T-devils actually make a good part by eating dead meat. They're the best cleanup crew in nature." Chris patted his brother._

" _Oh, yeah... Same as when I use old parts in my new inventions."_

" _Ex-" Chris fed Martin some meatballs, as he glitched back to normal. "-xactly." Aviva chuckled._

* * *

 _Martin growled at the robots imprisoning the endangered marsupials. "Is that Martin?" the boy asked Chris._

" _Yeah... Tazzy Martin, to be exact. Long story," the brunette explained._

 _The Tazzy brother smirked and chuckled before jumping in front of Zach and growling. The inventor ran into his mansion screaming._

" _Hey, kids... they're as scared of you as you are of them." Chris pointed out._

" _Really?" the boy asked._

" _Yeah. You know, T-devils are scavengers... and they're endangered because people don't give them a chance. If you help them out, you'll see how cool they are," Martin said with a growl._

 _The girl and boy smiled. "Hmm... guess you're right," the girl said._

* * *

 _Chris and the kids pulled on Martin's tail to make him stop from eating the rotten food, but eventually got fell over with him. They laughed as they hit the floor, and T-Bone got the moldy pizza._

 _"Silly boy," Chris said to his Tazzy bro before ruffling his hair again. Aviva came down with her screwdriver. Chris stepped aside so she could deactivate Martin's suit._

" _Aww… I was liking that ruffling," Martin complained. His bro and friend chuckled at that._

* * *

 _"I have to say bro, you were a good t-devil," Chris commented his bro, putting a hand on his shoulder._

" _And at least we took the opportunity to tag the T-devils left. Right, T-Bone?"_

 _T-Bone growled at Martin, and he growled to him._

" _Hey... I thought I deactivated him," Aviva said, slightly confused as she scratched her temple._

" _Good boy..." Chris ruffled his brother, as he sat like a dog again. The team chuckled._

* * *

"That was cool." Mina said. "I wonder what else these timelines hide."

"Okay, guys, we're only able now to see one more timeline," Aviva warned. "Then, I guess we'll have to turn it off."

"Hey, do you think we can see what's going to happen in the future?" Jimmy asked.

"Hmm, maybe. But I don't know which of these could be a future timeline," Aviva answered.

"How about... that one there?" Martin pointed to a screen that showed a white metropolis. With a nod, Aviva pressed a button.

* * *

 _The white city was energetic with people. There was a crowd in front of a building that could be like a college or high school._

" _People of the world… after years of adventuring and after meeting amazing creatures, we feel we can no longer continue our mission," a little older Chris, with his hair shorter, announced through a microphone._

" _Friends left along the way. But the legacy of the Wild Kratts shall not end now," Martin said. "This is why we present to you the new members of our team: the Wilkinson and Armstrong siblings."_

 _Three teens and a younger boy walked up onto the stage. There were… Aidan, Gavin, Ronan and Nolan!_

" _You really think we'll know best how to do that_ _?" Gavin asked. Martin knelt to him._

" _We do." He nodded to him._

 _Aviva stepped forward and put the Creature Power Suits on Gavin and Aidan._

" _We'll still guide you all when you need us, boys, but now, we're more than a team... we're family," Chris said._

 _Aidan and Gavin smiled at the brothers. The four boys were soon applauded by the crowd, including by their friends._

* * *

The crew stared in surprise. Little did they knew is that the boys were secretly observing everything from the Tortuga's window.

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!" Ronan chanted fast in a happy tone.

"Please… let this be our future," Gavin prayed.

"Please please please," Aidan chanted.

The crew eventually heard the boys. "Boys?" Martin asked.

"Oops. Talked too loud?" Aidan asked.

"Yup," Nolan said, with his pronghorn plush. The Kratt Brothers chuckled at that.

The boys entered the HQ. "How long have you been here?"

"Since you started to geek out about the possibilities," Ronan said.

"Aviva, was that… our future?" Aidan asked.

"Hmm… I don't actually know, _amigo_."

"Well, if by chance IS our future, at least we know we're leaving our legacy to good people," Martin said. Chris nodded in agreement.

"We can only hope," Mina pointed out. "After all… the future brings lots of surprises within it."

The crew agreed, and they observed the image of the "heroes of tomorrow" one last time, before losing connection.


	17. Episode 18: Miracle Mercy

It was raining hard in the Central American rain forest, where the Tortuga was landed. Sam had stopped by for a visit, since they landed close to his new home: a cabin in the forest. Somehow, he felt good close to nature.

"Oh boy, It's raining pretty hard. I only hope Grabsy found a good place to stay," Martin thought.

"Isn't he the spider monkey?" David asked.

"He sure is and he's so cute!" Mina commented.

"It has been a long time since we saw him," Martin said. "He's probably in his teens by now. But we have pictures of him as a baby." Martin took out the Wild Kratts Diary and showed them the Bugs or Monkeys chapter.

Chris was practicing with his crystal powers, aided by Ventus. Even after all that's happened in the Chris-tal Clear and Wéifēng adventures as well as the link made between him and his medallion, he still had no full control over it.

Nearby, Aviva worked not resting a bit on the vehicles, being stuck with them, since the Future Predators they sent chewed them. "Yuck! There's still drool on them!" she complained, looking at the rocket sled.

 _'We also weren't that good, thank you very much,'_ Chris thought.

Mina was reading to Elsa and David about the teams adventures before they came. Jimmy played one of his Zachbot crushing video games. Koki helped Bite-Size clean his bat box. Sam was currently taking a nap in one of the guys' bedrooms.

Chris started small with just a bit of quartz forming on a good sized rock. Unfortunately, it backfired, pluming up as huge crystals and making him fall back. Chris got up using the desk to lift himself up.

"Ugh, I'll never get full control of this crystallization!" He snapped his fingers, making them disappear.

"Easy, brother," Ventus assured.

Aviva just worked on her buzz bike. "And I'll never succeed in fixing my dear buzz bikes if you keep breaking them."

"What?" Chris snapped. "It was the Predators."

"Only because you haven't protected them! My poor Buzz Bikes, and my dear Manta Riders… it costed me so much to-"

Chris, finally fed up with her attitude, slammed his hands on the desk. A few crystals formed.

"THAT'S IT! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" Koki dropped the bat box, having been startled. Every soul in the room turned to Chris.

"Wh-what?" Chris angrily turned to Aviva.

"You're so selfish, Aviva! You keep putting your stupid machines in first place, and don't even seem to care about us! They're MACHINES! You can build many of them! But friends aren't built like that! Is it too much asking you for a little respect?"

Aviva's eyes filled up with tears. Ven felt a bit angry at him, but kept it to himself. Koki stood up.

"Okay, Chris, you already had your tantrum. Leave Aviva alone."

"And who exactly does Ms. I-judge-creatures-by-their-looks think she is to tell me how to act?!" Chris snapped at her.

"Well, _I'm_ not the one that rejected Serena because she was a siren!" Koki snapped. "And Zach nearly killed her!"

"Oh... really? Well, you put an innocent brown bat in danger by expelling him with mean attitudes, you put a bunch of T-devils in danger because of your grossed-out-with-everything attitude and you keep doubting me and Martin, because for you we're nothing but stupid twerps!"

"Hey, hey! I learned from my mistakes!"

"Really? So why do you keep playing strict mother to us when we're only adventuring? You call us mean names, keep doubting our ideas when we're just trying to help you and just doesn't give a rest for being such a loud-mouth!" Koki looked at him furious. Everyone backed away slowly.

"Oh, boy. Hope he doesn't do me next." Jimmy hid behind his chair. Mina hid with Jimmy, not wanting to be the next as well. Martin miniturized himself and hid in Bite-Size's dropped bat box. David, Clarissa and Elsa fled to another room. Ven actually went into the tree in the room.

"Now you listen here, Christopher Frederick Jacob Kratt! You make yourself sound like you're better than all of us! Like you're the supreme leader of the team! What's next?! You're going to tell Martin, Clarissa and Mina everything they should do?!" Chris went wide eyed at that.

"What?! I would never-"

"Oh, forget it! Even before we met Clarissa, you've always been the bossy one! Heck, if she and Mina weren't your sisters, then you'd be named the brat of the team! The bossy, selfish KRATT BRAT!" That stabbed him hard in the heart. Martin and Ven gasped.

"At least I'm not a big stupid jerk like you!" Chris ran out of there. He was outside before tears fell from his eyes. Koki breathed out heavily.

Martin and Bite-Size slowly came out of the bat box. Jimmy and Mina peeped from behind the chair. Clarissa, David and Elsa started returning to the room.

"Chris and his tantrums! Unbelievable how it's not hard to live with him," Koki shouted, still upset.

"Look who's talking," Clarissa muttered.

"What?" Koki asked venomously.

"Uh-oh..." Martin gulped, and rushed to hide in the bat box again.

* * *

Not too far, Donita's jet was flying over the clouds of the storm. Inside, Donita was viewing photos of the team in their CPS and creature powers. She had to admit that the designs of the suits were wonderful.

"Dabio, have you ever thought of how much one of those Creature Power Suits could be?" the fashionista asked. "Wait. Don't answer that. They're obviously worth billions. And, ooh-la-la, will they look good on me! I must have one for myself. And then I'll be the most beautiful creature in the world. Dabio, land near the Wild Kratts HQ. We have some "shopping" to do."

"Yes, Donita."

* * *

"What do you mean, _Ms._ Clarissa?" Koki turned to the girl.

"You think it's hard to live with Chris? Look at you! You really do have a loud-mouth!"

"Aw, come on! Aviva, tell her to stop!" Koki ordered Aviva.

"And where were you when he was laying me off!?" Aviva snapped at her.

Soon, the girls, minus the younger ones, started some kind of catfight. Jimmy returned to his hideout, along with Mina, Ven, David, Elsa, and Bite-Size.

Sam woke up from his nap. "Huh? What's going on?" He didn't go far before David pulled him back by his shark tail. He had him hide with him and Elsa.

"If you want your tail still on, I suggest going nowhere near that catfight," David told him. Sam observed the three girls.

"Yikes. I see your point. Hey, where's Chris?" The new Guardian sighed.

"Let's just say he did something… not that merciful." The Neo-human reached for the green jewel in his forehead hidden under his hair.

* * *

The Earth Guardian didn't go far from the Tortuga. He came to a tree and just started climbing, not giving notice to the rain. The brunet sat on a branch with an umbrella like leaf. He was soaked, but he didn't take notice of it.

"How could she..." he mumbled, completely upset. The Kratt in green pulled his legs toward him.

The rain got softer after a while, but Chris didn't feel like moving. His hair was dripping wet, though he didn't care even the slightest. His thoughts were still focused on what Koki said. How can he ever forgive her for saying such a thing?

Suddenly, he heard a familiar call. The brunet lifted the leaf a bit to see. He saw a familiar family of spider monkeys. The youngest looked a little older than when he last saw him.

"Grabsy?" he called. Grabsy heard him call his name and he swung down. The little spider monkey's hair was a little lower than when he was a baby. Chris pulled out his medallion and activated his creature comprehension power.

"Hey, Chris!" the tailed primate greeted. "Whoa. *chuckle* What's with the saggy hair?"

"*sigh* Not now, Grabsy," Chris said. The monkey jumped onto his shoulders anyway and started fixing it.

Martin climbed up, having stepped out of the Tortuga and returning to normal size without anyone of the crew noticing.

"Hey..."

"Hey."

"Well. Gotta admit it was... pretty impressive how you finally stood up and said something."

"I don't think so... I mean, I meant all those things, but... I feel terrible now."

"You should have seen what happened. The girls all turned on each other like a bunch of wolves."

"What?! But... I never meant to cause that... I was just..."

"I know. You've been holding pain and anger for a long time... but I guess that wasn't the right opportunity to let it all go."

"Guess just because I feel bad... doesn't mean others have to." Chris thought about those words. At that point, Grabsy finished re-spiking the brunet's hair. He then jumped to Martin's shoulders.

While doing so, a drop of rain water dripped off the leaf and fell in front of him. As it did so, when it was perfectly angled, the sunlight shined through it, seeming to reflect the green of the forest, making it glow. Chris's eyes then glowed green for a few seconds.

"Mercy is about pardoning. And that's the last thing I did there. But how will I be able to return? They... probably will hate seeing me again." Martin put a comforting hand on hs shoulder. His brother sighed. "I need some time to think. Excuse me, bro." He got up and began climbing higher. The blonde watched him sadly along with Grabsy.

"Chris..." At the corner of his eye, he spotted something pink fly over the canopy.

"Donita! What's she doing here?" The blond turned to Grabsy. "Grabsy, I'd like you to keep an eye on Chris for me while I see what Donita wants." The monkey gave him a nod before he took a vine ladder to the canopy. Martin started climbing down the trunk.

With Grabsy, he found the brunet in the canopy. The monkey could tell he was trying to focus. He was sitting in a meditative position.

* * *

The girls continued their catfight, until Martin arrived to try to warn them about Donita.

"Guys?" Jimmy shut his mouth.

"Not a good time. Their catfight's worse now."

The boys put an ear on the door to hear how was everything going. The girls continued to fight, eventually pulling each other's hairs.

"Wait, wait!" Aviva called their attention. "Why are we fighting again?"

"Well..." Koki was going to say something, but then, she thought for a moment. "I don't remember."

"Neither do I. All I know is that we're a mess now," Clarissa pointed out.

"I do remember." Martin entered. "You and Chris had an anger breakdown, and said horrible things to each other. Now Chris is all gloomy in the forest, fearing that you'll not even forgive him for being so... unmerciful."

Koki gasped. She did say horrible things... was all that stuff Chris said about her true? "Oh, no… what have I done?"

"But we got another problem! Donita is-"

"Hello, Wild Kratts," they heard a familiar voice.

"Uh-oh..." The crew screamed as a pink flash covered them.

* * *

"That's all..." Chris was currently speaking with Terra about his situation. With his mind, he had made a pine tree appear in the white void his subconscience roams. Both were sitting on some high branches.

" _Anger is something dangerous. It can spread like a virus and slowly poison not only you or the person you want to reach, but everyone else. For a case like this, mercy and compassion are needed. I had to learn it the hard way,"_ Terra said, putting a hand on Chris's shoulder.

"So you know what it's like?" the prime asked.

 _"Yes. I guess you can say we've always been the hard headed ones. Always wanting to get our point across. Not caring about people in the crossfire."_ Chris nodded in agreement.

"Ugh... I feel horrible, like that time with Serena."

" _Well, symbolizing Mercy doesn't mean you'll be able to show it all the time. Even the most merciful can have a breakdown."_

"I guess..."

" _It's never too late to apologize, Chris. It may take long, but it doesn't mean they won't end up forgiving you."_

Chris grinned at his past self. "You know that for a fact, don't you?"

 _"You know me."_

"Thanks Terra," Chris said, before finishing his meditation.

"Chris!" Grabsy called quietly. He hurriedly swung in the Guardian's direction. There was something glowing green in the grip of his tail. "I found this in the canopy! I think you will need it!"

He threw the object towards him. Chris caught it and suddenly felt power coarse through him. The Kratt in green looked at the object. It was a green crystal. The flower on his medallion appeared as it began to glow.

* * *

"Let us go, Dumbata!" Mina demanded. The team was frozen under the pose beams.

"Quiet, little rascal. I'll just pick one of your Creature Power Suits, then I'll be on my way." Donita examined the team's CPS, seeing which one she liked the most. "By the way, who's the pretty-looking in white?"

"Thanks for the pretty-looking, my name is Vincent, but I heard about what you do to animals," Ventus said.

"Whatever, Vincenzo," Donita said. "Now let's see..."

She gave Jimmy's a disgusted look. "Ugh, I can't stand yellow."

"Hey! Yellow's a nice color, thank you very much!" the redhead snapped. The fashionista then noticed something. Ten members captured. Seven CPS in front of her. There are EIGHT of each. But one was one she didn't know, so he didn't count. She angrily turned to them.

"Where's Chris-Angelo?"

"Right here, Donita," a voice echoed. She and Dabio looked around in surprise. It sounded like Chris, but the tone was a little lower. He wasn't anywhere to be seen. The crew sent confused glances at each other. Suddenly, something sliced Martin's pose beam in half, followed by Koki's.

"What?! But how's that possible?!"

"What do you know? These can cut through even pose beams." The voice seem to be coming from the tree that grows inside the HQ.

"Get him, Dabio!" Donita ordered. Dabio began to climb, but then stopped.

"Uh, Donita, there's no one there," he told her.

"What? But how can that be?" Then, the tree started to shake. And as if it were alive, it grabbed the fashionista and her henchman. Both started screaming in fright and thrashing. Something cut through the remaining pose beams, freeing the others.

Something hit the ground hard, making it stick out. The team looked. It was a circle shaped weapon that looked like a green colored sunflower. The spikes were like the petals with a brown center, which looked like where a person grabs it. The leaves rustled and something jumped out, though it looked like noting did.

Then, appearing out of what seemed like thin air, was Chris. He looked like a gallant warrior with his green and copper garments and copper armor that covered his midsection. On his hands were elbow length copper gauntlets. Upon his feet were knee high boots with a color of rich soil.

Behind him was a pale green, see through cape that might be made of spider silk. But what was most eye catching was the yellow-green stripes in his hair, a weird bronze crown with a green jewel that went to his forehead and eyes as green as a lush forest.

"Chris?" He smiled at his team, though it was clear to them that it was a sad one full of regret. He had another of the circle weapons in another hand. Without a word, the Earth Guardian pulled his weapon out of the floor.

"I will admit Chris-Angelo, that outfit looks good on you," Donita commented. "If you had to name it, what would it be? Tree Boy?" Chris just narrowed his green eyes at her.

"Forest Crown," he stated. David gasped in realzation, remembering Martin's Sea Crown Form.

"Another Crown Form," he said under his breath. "Then that means…" He focused on the green jewel. "Another Elemental Crystal has been found."

"Gaia's Emerald…" Mina mumbled.

"Put me down this instant!" Donita complained. Chris only made one of the weapons disappear before moving his hand. The tree suddenly let go, letting the bad guys drop to the floor with a thud. The Guardian of Mercy smirked.

"Well, you said to put you down this instant," he mocked, making the crew laugh a little. Donita growled as she got to her feet.

"Get that brat!" she ordered Dabio. The dumb blonde charged, only for the green brother to raise the other Chakram to his throat, making him stop.

The team stood, wondering what will happen. Chris turned his sight to Donita. "I suggest you both leave."

"Forget it! A flashy weapon isn't going to stop me from having a Creature Power Suit!"

"I'm not using my full capability right now. Consider it me being as merciful as I can with you."

"Well, I don't take mercy from anyone!" He shrugged.

"Suite yourself." With a flick of his hand, the branch started moving again. Without warning, it swung and sent Donita flying like a golf ball, with her screaming.

"W-w-w-w-wait for me, Donita!" Dabio called as he ran out of there in fear. Everyone just watched as he left. With that, the Earth Guardian dismissed his weapons.

Chris smiled at the team with that sad smile again and the tree lifted him to the second floor. Koki watched in shame of herself.

* * *

After everything calmed down, Chris observed some pictures from the Wild Kratts Diary. Koki came in, sighing.

"Oh, there you are, Koki," Chris said, once he saw Koki coming in. "Look, I'm sorry for what I said before to you and Aviva. It was really mean. I honestly didn't meant to hurt your feelings."

"No… I'm the one who should be sorry. I also really didn't meant any of the things I said," Koki said. "But I admit… you were right about some things. And I think the reason I do those things you pointed out… is because I'm jealous of you."

"Of me?"

"You're actually amazing, Chris. Mostly giving yourself a chance to know something better, not caring about how gross and how dangerous things can be… putting it this way, I would never be a good adventurer like you are."

"I'm the one who's jealous. You're really firm in your words, and never worries about speaking your mind. I wish I could be more like you, Koki."

"And me, a good and wise leader like you, Chris." Koki smiled. The computer technician started to tear up before hugging her leader. "I guess Aviva will end up forgiving you as well. Just give her some time."

"I will." Chris smiled. Aviva just stared at them. She remembered of some of Chris's words to her… and some of them really made sense somehow.

"Well, since we're being honest… I'm having some problems with my crystalization. Since you're more in control of your flames..."

"You want me to help you? Okay… but only if you help me in being a better listener and trust you and Martin more often."

"It's a deal." They kept their embrace going, until the rain fully stopped. Somehow it was like the weather was matching the mood around the HQ.

 _Chris (voice-over):Terra was right. Even the most merciful have breakdowns_. _I realized that the hard way, and ended up learning that mercy is also about being forgiving, despite past mistakes. Maybe some people don't care about that, and hurt each other, believing it'll make them feel better, but I sure won't be one of them again._

Chris set the new crown next to Martin's on the shelves. It glowed for a moment after he left the room.


	18. Episode 19: Rock-a-Bye Crocco

On the northeast coast of Australia, the Tortuga was parked close to a brackish river. The Kratt Trio was looking around the beach.

"Where is it?" Chris wondered around. "They shouldn't be this hard to find."

"There!" Martin pointed out onto the muddy bank. Sunning on the shore was a big croc with a greenish brown color. "A saltwater crocodile! Also sometimes called "salties."

"Holy Hermes! It's huge!" Ventus exclaimed.

"It's the biggest crocodile in the world. Can grow up to 22 feet. And they're all over Southeast Asia and in the northern part of Australia," Martin explained.

"They're in large abundance too. They're some of the least threatened of all crocs."

"Interesting. Guess I never programmed this creature info in the crocodile power suit before," Aviva said, as she observed from the screen in the Tortuga.

"Yeah. We only saw the American croc, the Nile croc and the Gharial croc in Borneo."

"He's pretty," Mina said.

"Pretty big, you mean," Bite-Size joked. Snow and her kittens ran around the HQ.

"Ugh…" Koki grunted. "They're messing everything up again."

"Well, all cats, wild or domestic, are playful," Aviva said. Then, Chloe knocked down her tools.

"Hey! Watch out for my bat box!" Bite-Size gasped. Too late! Pascal jumped on the top of the bat box, knocking it down, and breaking it. "Oh, no-ho-ho..." he lamented.

"*sigh* Don't worry. I'll fix it," Koki said. "Uh… excuse me, Snow?" The cat was taking a nap on her station.

"HEY! Not my controller!" Jimmy tried taking his controller away from Cappuccino and Chloe, and ended up getting a scratch on his leg. "OUCH!"

"Wow… never saw them so… agitated."

"Or with their claws so sharp," Jimmy said, flinching in pain, as Koki rushed to aid him.

"Hey, what's that croc doing?" Mina asked, seeing a saltie digging a spot in the sand.

"Either digging a hole for a new nest or removing the sand for baby crocs to come out of it," Aviva said.

"Saltwater crocs can lay 40-60 eggs," Chris informed. "Even more than Crocodilla could lay."

"Cool. Baby saltwater crocodiles," Martin said.

"Second option was right! Here comes the baby salties," Ventus said. "So that must be a female croc." He then saw the mother picking up her kids.

"Hey! She's **eating** her babies?!" Ventus started to panic. "But why?!"

"Relax, silly. She's not eating them," Aviva said. "She's just picking them up. And very carefully, because of her sharp teeth."

"Oh… nevermind then." Ventus blushed.

"Don't worry, I acted the same way when I saw Crocodilla do it. Worst mistake of my life," Aviva sighed.

"Hmm… I think I'll name her Saltine and one of her kids Rocko. *sigh* Reminds me of Rocko the Dodo." Chris put a hand on his shoulder.

"There was nothing we could do, no matter what we did, bro."

"Yeah, I know…"

One of the baby crocs approached the brothers, curious.

"Oh, hey there. Don't you think you should go with your brothers?" Martin asked.

"I think he already did," Mina pointed out to some footprints. "Guess he was between the first ones being carried to the water."

"Oh… so… would you like your name to be… Rocko?" Martin asked, activating his Animal Comprehension.

"Rocko!" the baby croc repeated, excitedly.

"He likes it." The Water Guardian stroked him gently with a finger. Rocko started to munch on it.

"Yikes. Doesn't that hurt?" Elsa asked, observing through the screen.

"Nah. Baby crocs don't have all of their teeth when they're born. Only the egg tooth that help them break their eggs. It's located here in the end of his snout. The rest will grow in after a few weeks," Martin explained.

"Strangely, after a year, baby crocs are able to take care of themselves. Eventually, they leave to find a habitat of their own. Crocodilla's babies totally were against this tradition, because they're still with their mom," Koki pointed out, as she finished fixing Bites' bat box. "There, Bites. Your bat box is fixed, but we need to wait a little. Glue doesn't harden in a few seconds. So guess we'll be sharing the hammock again."

Bites got into his human form, and hugged her. "Thanks, Koki."

"Aw… it's like he's your son. Or little brother," Elsa observed them.

"Yeah… more like a little pocketful of sunshine that entered my life." Koki ruffled Bites' hair.

"Hey, stop! My controller collection!" Jimmy gasped, trying to prevent the kittens of breaking his controllers. "I need them intact for the game trade convention."

"They're getting everywhere," Aviva complained.

"And so does their fur. I'm not allergic, but the place looks like a barn full of hay," David complained.

"But we managed to upgrade one of our crocodile disks. Modified for saltie activation. Send it, JZ." Aviva threw the disk to the teleporter.

"Zap it!" Jimmy pressed a button and sent it to the bros.

Once the disk was teleported, Martin caught the disk first. "Me first!" he cheered.

"Won't this be… dangerous?" Ventus asked.

"Dangerous? Ha! I'm an expert creature adventurer. I laugh at the face of danger," Martin said, laughing, until a croc snapped close to him. "Whoa!" He backed up. His two bros started snickering. Martin narrowed his eyes. "Ha ha, very funny. But really opportune." He quickly touched the croc's snout. "Activate saltie powers!"

After the transformation, he observed his new style. "Hm… "

"So… how does it feel?" Chris asked.

"Hm… interesting. Look: the saltwater crocs have fewer armour plates on its neck than other crocodilians."

"Yeah… why is that?" Ven asked.

"I don't know for sure… but their heads are bigger than the other crocs as well. And check out the jaw strength." Martin opened his croc mouth, then quickly closed.

"Wow… a snap like that could really crush a full-grown bovid's skull between its jaws. Salties don't have the strongest bite force in the creature world today for nothing," Chris observed.

"Well, time to test out the swim ability," Martin said. With that, he headed to the water. "Ooo, nice and warm, yet cool. The perfect temperature for any aquatic reptile."

"Wow, it looks so easy to swim without all those armour plates on the neck. Guess that's why salties don't have many," Aviva said.

"You're right. And the skin feels like leather." Ventus touched the suit.

"Obvious, isn't it?" Chris said.

"True. They all feel like leather," Martin chuckled. Ventus blushed. Suddenly, Martin felt like something was pulling on him.

"Hm… I don't know why… but something tells me I gotta go that way."

"You sure it's not just a small current?" Chris asked.

"Hey… Saltine and the kids are passing by that current," Ventus pointed out, watching the signals on his Creaturepod. "Where are they going?"

"I know," Aviva said. "In a similar fashion to migratory birds, saltwater crocodiles use ocean currents to travel long distances. They do this in search of food."

"I'm gonna follow them and see what they do." Martin decided.

"Be careful, little brother," Ven told him.

"Ven, I'm not a little boy," Martin chuckled.

"I know, but I never got used to Aqua or Terra becoming adults. So something like this is kind of new."

"Gotcha. See ya guys!" With that, the Kratt in blue rushed to follow Rocko, his brothers and Saltine.

* * *

The crocs and the Kratt in blue continued their travel, until they found a school of fish. The fish were very tiny.

"Oh, guess it's lunch time!" Martin noticed. Everyone left the current. "Hatchlings usually feed on small bugs or fish. The larger the animal grows, the greater the variety of its diet." He observed the two catching fish, as well as the other croc babies. As they finished eating they headed back to the current. Martin followed.

Then, he saw a bunch of predatory fish coming right to the croc babies. "*gasp* Oh, no! Rocko! Saltine! Kids! Watch out!" Saltine saw the predators and began defending her children. Martin tried to help too.

"Unlike adults, baby saltwater crocodiles may fall prey to monitor lizards, predatory fish, various aquatic and raptorial birds, larger crocodiles, and many other predators."

Fortunately, Martin and Saltine were able to protect Rocko, but the rest of the babies… unfortunately were fish food.

"Oh, no… I'm sorry for this, Saltine," Martin lamented the sad fate of Rocko's brothers. "Now I know how Crocodilla felt about losing her babies."

" _Don't blame yourself… my mother had to face this too..."_ Saltine said.

Then, Martin checked his Creaturepod. "Whoa! Wait a second! We're going the wrong way! We're reaching the southeastern region! And it's colder down there! We have to get out of here!"

Martin tried to escape the current, but eventually Rocko and Saltine lost him, no matter how he struggled to free himself. He was getting really cold and his body started to move very sluggishly. Then, the current got weaker and Martin finally got out.

"Phew… I did it! But it's... so cold here... and my Creaturepod froze... and now... I'm getting really sleepy..." He started to yawn. Two shadows moved above him. "Huh?" He looked up and saw Rocko and his mother, climbing onto a nearby bay.

"Rocko… Saltine… where are you going?" Martin yawned, as he hurried to try to meet them. "Right. Without having to move around much, sometimes simply by floating, the current-riding behaviour allows for the conservation of energy. *yawn* Salties even interrupt their travels, residing in sheltered bays for a few days, when the current is against the desired direction of travel, until *yawn* the current changes direction."

He settled himself close to the croc mom. "*yawn* I'm so tired… maybe I just need a nap." His eyes closed as he drifted off into slumber.

Saltine stared at him for a short while, unsure about him until Rocko crawled over to him. The baby croc gave a small chirp. Martin didn't even stir. He then tried climbing on his back and yanked his hair with his toothless jaws. He still didn't move.

Rocko chirped with sad eyes to his mother. He was getting worried about his friend.

* * *

Meanwhile, Chris and Ventus waited for Martin to call back. They were getting worried.

"Ugh... it feels like HOURS! What happened to him?" Ven asked.

"Hm… not getting anything on my Creaturepod. It's almost out of power. Let's check with the others," Chris suggested, heading inside. He and Ventus gasped: the place was an absolute mess. "Whoa... what in the name of Zeus happened?"

"Well, we had some… problems," Aviva said.

"Yeah, some furry problems," Koki said, pointing to Snow and her kittens.

"I see that… but has Martin called you guys?" Chris asked.

"Uh... no," Koki said, hesitating a bit.

"Wait. Can't you get his signal?" Ventus asked.

"Uh... it disappeared."

"You lost him?!" Ven was starting to freak out.

"Calm down." Aviva put her hands on his shoulders. "We'll find him."

"The last point of signal we had was several miles south near southeastern Australia," Koki informed. "There was a strong current from here to there. It's possible Martin got caught in it by accident and taken farther south."

"And the water gets colder as he continues passed even Australia," Chris said in worry. "He won't be able to take it being in a croc suit."

"Why?" Elsa asked.

"Like all reptiles, crocodiles including salties are cold blooded. They support themselves on the temperature of their environment. It has to be just right for the reptile to survive."

"So Martin can die out there?!" Ven panicked.

"Ouch… my ears," David complained.

"Sorry… You know I get loud when I'm nervous."

"Well, it's a slim chance. He'll probably make it, but we gotta find him." Chris left for a moment and came back in his scuba gear. "Ven, I hope you're ready for your first time on a Manta Rider."

"Wait. What?"

"Come on." Chris proceeded to push him into the other room to get his wetsuit on.

* * *

The two brothers set off to find their missing brother.

"Brrrr! This water _is_ cold!" Ven complained. His wetsuit was a white version. "I'm not surprised that a croc can't last long out here!"

"Yeah, we gotta find Martin and fast!" Chris said. "He must be freezing!"

"Wait, Chris! I'm finally getting a signal!" Ven held up his Creaturepod. The screen showed two lights. "It's... Rocko and Saltine! They're nearby!"

"Maybe they've seen Martin! Let's go follow the signal!" The two set their Manta Riders to full speed. Once they reached shore, they left their vehicles on a dry spot on the sand before going to their crocodilian friends. They noticed the big bluish one with them.

"Any chance that big croc could be her… mate or something like that?"

"No. All crocs are solitary, besides the moms with babies. Besides, it's alligators that are bluish, not crocs. So it must be..." They approached the "reptile" and they gasped.

"Martin!" He wasn't moving, but he was breathing. He just laid there like he was asleep. Both eldest and youngest brothers rushed to him.

"Martin! What's wrong? Wake up!" There was no response.

"Let me do a medical scan." Chris held his Creaturepod over Martin and it scanned him. "Body temperature: cold as ice. Heartbeat: pumping, but very slow. *gasp* Oh no."

"What's wrong with him?"

"When a saltwater crocodile is in someplace cold, their bodies freeze up so they don't need to breathe or eat for a long time."

"Like... hibernating?"

"Kind of. Saltwater crocodiles hibernate. But only during dry or drought times, and I may remind in a cold time. Drought makes it hard for their bodies to function correctly, as well as the cold."

"Uh-oh," Aviva gulped, as she saw everything from the HQ. "Guess I made it… too much like a saltie."

"Come on, Ven. We got to get him to the Tortuga." The two carefully set him on their Manta Riders. "Thanks for watching over him, Saltine. We owe you."

Saltine nodded, and Rocko looked at Martin. He seemed worried.

"Don't worry, buddy. Once he wakes up, we'll find you guys, so he can see you again," Chris assured. Rocko chirped as he saw the brothers take their croc bro to the HQ.

* * *

The Tortuga landed in the park. The Wilkinson family was actually there waiting for them.

"Koki called us. What exactly happened to Martin?" Laura asked.

"He's over here." Chris pointed to the water tank with the croc bro.

"Martin!" Laura rushed to her boyfriend.

"Is he okay?" Gavin asked.

"He's alright, guys. Believe it or not, he's sort of… hibernating," Ventus explained.

"Crocs hibernate?" Ronan asked.

"Yeah, mystery to scientists too. Maybe he only needs to warm up."

"Can't we just deacti-" Laura started.

"No!" Chris stood in front of the tank, guarding it. "A sudden shock awakening like that can be harmful to any reptile in this kind of state! And that includes reptile power suits. We could end up hurting him. Trust me. We can't deactivate him, just like Aviva with the groundhog suit. Martin has to come of it on his own."

"Oh... sorry. It was just a hunch," Laura said. "Come on, bring him in."

"Huh?"

"You said he needs to warm up, and it's gonna be cold by night, so we're setting the fireplace."

"You want my brother in a 22-feet long saltie suit in your house?"

"He's always welcomed at our place," Laura giggled. "And so are you guys."

Inside Laura's house, everyone waited for Martin to wake up. Martin opened his mouth then snapped. "Whoa!" Laura yelped.

"Careful Laura. Salties do that when they get too hot. Saltwater crocodiles have the strongest bite of any an..."

"Yeah, I know. You told me that… but I know my love would never hurt me." Laura smiled at him.

"I think we better move him closer to the fire. His heartbeat's slowing back down." The whole Wilkinson family helped Chris move his croc bro to the fireplace. Laura sat down to lay his head on her lap.

* * *

Martin was still asleep for the next few hours. Every few minutes, he took a breath or snapped his jaws. Laura stayed by his side, stroking his hair or teasing his sprigs. Chris did a quick scan after some time.

"Body temperature: 98.6 fahrenheit. Heartbeat: 180 per minute. Normal when resting like this. I say it's safe to deactivate him now."

"Nah, he's cute like this. Just a little longer until he fully wakes up."

Martin began to stir. He yawned under the touch of his beloved girl. "Good morning..."

"Morning, sleepy croc." He looked up at her.

"Laura… how did you get to Australia?"

"Uh bro, we're actually back in the city," Chris informed. "You slept during the whole ride back home. And even then, you were out for hours."

"You were hibernating… saltie style," Gavin said.

"Wow… I really needed a nap, but not like that," Martin joked, while Laura deactivated his suit, and kissed him.

"Um… Laura, do you guys have pets?" Aviva asked the blonde woman.

"Well… not at the moment. I've been thinking honestly about getting one."

"So… we've been having some… furry problems. And we were hoping you could… "

"Keep our familiar cats, please!" Koki shouted. "Ahem… I mean..."

"Familiars? Like special animals with secret abilities?" Laura asked. "It was our theme in the last reunion of the Myth Club."

"Well, the only ability they have for now is messing things up. Nothing against them, but..."

"I know… you got a work to do. Okay… where are they then?"

Then, they heard Jimmy's scream. He ran to the house, panting, and the cats entered through the small entrance in the door.

"Cats got your tongue, Jimmy?"

"My tongue, no… but my legs… ouch… Oh, hey, Martin. We were worried." Mina caught a scent from one of the kittens.

"You tried giving them a bath, didn't you?"

"Well, they needed one."

Snow purred close to Laura. Her kittens followed shortly after.

"Don't worry. I'll take good care of these cuties." She knelt and picked up Snow. She purred on her lap, and set herself up for a nap.

"Thanks. Wish we could stay more… but we have someone to search for," Martin said, looking at the team, who nodded in approval.

* * *

As the team reached Australia again, Martin tuned up his mental power.

" _Oh, I really do hope he's all right,"_ a familiar voice said in his mind.

"Rocko! Saltine!" Martin cheerfully called. The baby croc looked in his direction before chirping happily and scurrying over.

 _"He's okay!"_ he heard Saltine mentally cheer. She swam over to meet the Kratt in blue. The baby saltie scratched on his boot.

"Aww…. I missed ya too, buddy." Martin gently scooped up the little croc into his arms.

"Wow, what a day. We took a closer look on the salties, and learned a lot about them," Mina said. "Bigger than other crocs, and the least menaced species of it..."

"Also with the strongest jaws in the world," Chris added.

"And even able to hibernate like bears or groundhogs," Aviva said.

"Another day for the Wild Kratts, another mission accomplished… and another Animal Friend for our life list," Martin said. "*yawn* But I'm still a little tired. You don't mind if I take a nap now, do you?"

"Just don't go rock-a-bye crocco again," Ven joked.

"Wha- did- did you just-" Martin was stunned, not believing his older brother perfectly did his "4th wall trick". Letting Rocko go meet his mom, the two of them talked as they walked back to the HQ.

"This means "war", bro. You know that, right?"

"Had enough wars, thank you very much." Ven gave him a smug smile, making him smirk. The team laughed about the two of them.


	19. Episode 20: Army of Zachbots

It was about to rain in the city. Zach took advantage of the fact that the Wild Kratts were out doing whatever their new adventure was about.

"A storm is inspiring for me. After all, there would not be electricity without Ben Franklin's discovery… plus, lightning is just essential for this new line of human-shaped Zachbots." Zach admired his inventions. "Once I finish them, they'll be able to search for vermins around the city, and people won't even notice. A little upgrade in their hologram program and they'll be done."

He brought a specific Zachbot, that activated its hologram form. That Zachbot looked just like Chris! Except he wore red.

"Oh, Toodles… you were certainly brilliant that day I had Green Guy trapped. Especially being the first Zachbot with an A.I. I doubt someday Ms. Smarty-Pants will be able to do something like this. Just imagine how much fun I'll be having more Zachbots as smart as you."

Then, he put a hand on the robot's shoulder. "Now wait a little longer like that. I need to finish programming their hologram mode."

" **Sure, Master. All you wish."** Soon it started to rain, and Toodles' hologram form disappeared, and the robot bumped into the human-shaped Zachbots.

"Ugh… just need to work on his depth perception..."

Suddenly, Zach flinched in pain as his finger was cut by a closing panel. A part of his blood entered Toodles's circuits.

Suddenly, a lightning bolt fell on Toodles, and a chain reaction reached the human-shaped Zachbots. They stood up on their own, surprising Zach.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the other side of the city, the Tortuga HQ landed once again in their considered base, the park. They were lucky their friends found a place to build a landing place for the turtle ship.

"Well, we arrived with the rain," Koki said. "Guess we'll have to wait for it to end for us to get supplies. After that whole thing with those future predators, we really need to re-fill."

"You said it. Who would know they would even feed on our tires? These future predators have an infinite wish for prey, no matter what kind it is. Aviva has been working like crazy to fix everything."

Aviva came out of the garage. "Phew. Finally fixed the Createrra. Costed me months, but I did it."

"Uh… about the "driving license" thing, I think I'm more into riding a bike or skydiving," Ventus admitted.

"Oh, okay," Martin said.

"Don't blame you," Chris commented. "You did say you like the wind in your face, didn't you?"

"That's our flying bro."

Suddenly, they heard a desperate knock on the door.

"Huh? Who could that be at this time?" Koki wondered. She went to answer it, and was shocked when she opened the door. "Zach?!"

Zach fell on the floor, breathing hard.

"Wow. Looks like he's been running from something," Martin observed.

"It... can't be..." Ventus stammered in shock.

"Oh yeah, Zach was Chaos. I forgot that," Chris said worriedly.

"He... we banished him..." A second later, he fainted.

"Brother!" the two younger bros gasped, helping him up.

"Fainted from shock. Like we haven't passed through this before," Koki said.

"No way," Aviva sternly said. "You're not really expecting us to help with anything after everything you did in the past, do you?"

The team stood shocked when Zach got to his knees with his hands clasped together in desperation.

"Please, please, please, please, please! I actually have no one else to turn to now!" Martin and Chris looked at each other, using their mind link.

"The answer is still no," Aviva said sternly. "You had enough chances in the past. And you blew all of them. So there's no way-"

"Okay, Zach. We'll help you," Chris interrupted.

"WHAT?!" Aviva yelled.

"On one condition, though," Martin stated. "If we do this, you will stop using creatures in any of your robots or try to steal our technology."

"Okay! Okay! Anything to get my home back!" Zach whined. Aviva huffed and left.

"Well then, I'm not having part in this," Aviva said, stomping outside of the room. " _Adios_!"

"Wow… that wasn't… too kind of her," Jimmy said.

"Agreed," Koki said.

"So what exactly happened, Zach?" Chris asked. Ven started to come to.

"One question first: who's the white one?" the villain asked.

"Long story..." Chris said. Once Ven saw Zach again, he lunged at him in a move of anger. The evil inventor shrieked before he was pinned to the floor.

"Just to be short, he doesn't remember a thing," the Kratt in green whispered to his bro in white.

"Huh?" Ven asked, seeing his attitude. "Oops… sorry. Um… impulse." He quickly stood up, nervously.

"Maybe he knew about the reincarnation spell somehow… but it's just a theory," Chris whispered again. "Um, excuse me for a moment." He turned around to follow Aviva.

* * *

With the tempestuous time, the Zachbots stayed inside the mansion. There, in front of Toodles, was a female version of Jimmy, with longer hair and a male version of Koki, with a jacket.

" **That's more like it,"** Toodles confirmed. " **Finally free from that scaredy cat."**

" **Yeah… but I feel sad. He was our creator, wasn't he?"** one of them, a Zachbot version of Martin, wearing white, commented.

" **Quiet, stupid. Whoever needs to hear your opinion… oh, wait, no one wants it, so just keep it for yourself!"** Toodles mocked. The Martin in white cringed.

 **"Y- yes sir."**

The female Jimmy and male Koki chuckled.

" **Well, any orders, chief?"** the female JZ asked.

" **First, let's get this place cleaned up. Zach sure should hire a maid instead of commanding US to clean his mess."**

" **Um… if we do it, wouldn't it be the same as receiving orders from..."**

" **Quiet! And just do it!"**

" **Okay..."**

" **What if he returns, boss?"** the male Koki asked.

" **He wouldn't dare. He doesn't have the guts."**

* * *

The rain outside was getting worse. Aviva was still pretty irritated that they were helping Zach of all people.

"Aviva, don't you think we should at least try to help him?" Chris asked her.

"No. It's Zach! He's our rival, tried stealing our technology millions of times, and keep calling me Ms. Smarty-Pants. Not that I don't like being called smart, but..."

"You know what, Aviva? You've also made mistakes, even worse than Zach sometimes!" Chris said.

"Hey, hey! I learned from my mistakes, unlike him. Tell me one time I..."

"You were mean to crocs, you doubted butterflies, you thought you could create something without help from the creatures in the Platypus Cafe adventure, we almost got clobbered by walruses and you asked if your **Manta Riders** were okay… Really?!" the Kratt in green scolded. "You should know better than us that EVERYONE deserves a second chance. To me, the only one that doesn't seem to learn a thing here is **you**!" Aviva gasped as Chris left.

She gulped at those words. Haven't she learned anything from her previous adventures?

She thought about the adventures Chris mentioned. All she could see there was an obnoxious, ignorant and stupid behavior. Really stupid for a smart girl like her.

Aviva gasped in realization. She was supposed to represent Kindness... but that's the last thing she had at those moments. She started sobbing in silence.

"He's right... I haven't learned anything..." she said to herself. Unnoticed by her, Ven was actually listening in on her.

"Wow... what a wake-up call, bro." It was all he could say.

* * *

*BG music: Kraftwerk - The Robots*

" **That's it. Right there."**

The robots worked hard to rearrange the place for Toodles, but he didn't moved for anything. The place looked really clean, and the boxes were reorganized.

A flycam was sent to the mansion.

"Wow… looks like the Zachbots aren't wasting their time in baloney. They're setting things up for some reason," Koki observed. "Hey, who's that one?" The camera focused on the leader.

"That's the lead Zachbot AI," Zach pointed out.

"The Zachbot Chris?" Chris asked.

"Um... I named him Toodles after a while."

"Why doesn't it sound weird to me anymore?" Martin sighed.

"You know I don't blame you, bro," Chris said. Ven actually stifled a laugh.

"Toodles? What name is that?"

"Let the Rhinos Roll chapter." Mina showed Ventus the Wild Kratts Diary.

"You didn't tell the difference?" Ventus asked Martin in disbelief, having gotten to the Toodles part.

"Can we please stop reminding me of that?!" Martin growled.

Aviva finally came inside, wiping her eyes. They were a little reddish.

"Have you been... crying?" Zach noticed the red around the inventor's eyes.

"It's no…" Aviva was going to respond with a mean tone, but stopped herself. "Well..."

"Not of my business, I know," Zach said, turning around. Aviva sighed, sitting on her station.

Chris looked at her, and felt bad about what he said. He did mean it, but… he never would expect that reaction. "It's Miracle Mercy all over again..." he muttered.

"To think that holographic image was one of my first and best upgrades in Zachbots. Used it many times," Zach lamented.

"You can say that again," Martin pointed out.

"Look, Martin will take a closer look at the situation out there, but we're not sure about how it's going to be," Chris said, while his brother put on his CPS.

"Well, I'm off to the mansion."

"Keep the camera on everything," Koki said.

"Got it. And you guys… help Ms. Element of Kindness..." Martin warned before leaving.

"Hey, sis… do you really think you're not kind?" Mina asked.

"I'm sure of it now, Mina. Chris said everything: I'm not kind at all to anyone!" Aviva said. "I mistreated creatures, and treated the boys as kids, and put them in danger with my selfishness and ignorance and..."

Mina made a signal to make her stop talking for a moment.

"Being kind to others is ONE way to be kind… but it's not the only one. You also show kindness by being honest to yourself instead of protecting your own point of view. And if you take a deeper look on all these incidents..." She showed her the Wild Kratts Diary, and pointed out to certain adventures.

Aviva saw the pictures, and they all made her remember what happened NEXT. She helped the butterflies to free themselves from Donita, helped Crocodilla to save her new nest from Zachbots, helped Platto with her wounded beak...

"Mina's right. Guess you DID learn from your mistakes. Some people learn in baby steps. Even the most smartest," Chris said. "I think I was too busy looking to your worst side… and totally forgot about your best side."

"... I guess you're right. I know I've been wrong all along by misjudging people and creatures… and also misjudging the wonderful friends I have. Hope with time you guys can forgive my previous selfishness and horrible words," Aviva muttered. "It may take long, but..."

"Sure, silly. You may be a little selfish, a bit impulsive and a bit short-tempered, but you're still our friend, and the smartest girl we know," Koki said. "Whoever said being honest to yourself is not kindness, sure doesn't know what that is."

"Um... Aviva..." Zach pulled something out of his pocket. It looked like a diamond.

"I found this a while back. Apparently, it's got a lot of power in it, but I wasn't able to extract any from it. So just take it. You're the smart one of the team." The diamond glowed purple and so did Aviva's eyes.

Aviva stared at Zach for a moment, then embraced him, making him freeze in shock. Ventus observed all that scene, and despite a little surprised about the hug, he smiled. After all, Aviva felt okay now.

"D-d-d-did you just do… what I think you just did?" Zach asked, still in shock.

" _Si_. Why?"

"Uh..."

"Guys! I'm here already!" they heard Martin's call.

"Good, MK. Now tell us what you see."

"Oh, boy… I see… a female version of Jimmy… a male version of Koki… and with Zachbot Chris..." Another humanoid looking Zachbot walked in. It looked like Martin, but it wore white like Ventus. "A Zachbot Martin?! First a Zachbot Chris, now a Zachbot _me_?!"

Martin eventually bumped into him.

" **Intruders!"** Toodles alerted. " **Get them now!"**

"Uh-oh..." Martin got in a defensive position, fearing what could happen.

" **Ooh..."** The Zachbot Martin observed his human version. " **You're good looking."**

Martin got surprised at that comment. "Oh... thanks."

" **What are you waiting for, you loser?! Take him away!"** Toodles ordered. The blond clone shuddered at his voice before hurriedly grabbing him hard by the wrist.

"Uh-oh! They got Martin!" Koki gulped.

"Guess it's our turn to help then," Chris said.

* * *

"Hey pal, easy with your grip. I'm a peace guy," Martin asked.

 **"S-sorry,"** he heard the clone whisper, which surprised him. The clone looked behind for a minute then, moved to a different direction.

"Huh?" The Kratt in blue was more surprised that the Zachbot Martin took him outside.

"Martin?" Chris said in equal surprise, as he arrived.

"Hey. You softened the grip in your arms." Martin noticed his Zachbot version was holding him a lot less stronger than when he was in front of the other Zachbots.

Then, he heard… the robot crying?

"You're… crying?" Martin saw his Zachbot version's face with some oil escaping from his eyes.

" **Just… not in front of them..."** he said. " **Don't wanna look… weak and helpless..."**

"Wait. You actually... don't approve your "brother"'s ideas, do you?"

" **Toodles is NOT my brother,"** Zachbot Martin said. " **He's our leader."**

"Oh..."

" **And I don't have a choice. I gotta follow his orders. He's smarter and stronger than me. I wasn't programmed right by Zach to be that much of a Zachbot myself... and I also don't have many weapons and cages."**

"I wouldn't say that," Martin said. "For me, he looks like a coward. I actually think you're pretty cool. Even cooler than the others. You only do what they say... because you think you're weak and useless without them. But I think he treat you like this, because HE feels useless without someone to work for him. It's unfair to be with someone that doesn't care a bit about you."

" **None of them... ever said those things to me."**

"Maybe they don't like you at all," Martin said. "But I do." He offered his hand in friendship. The Zachbot Martin embraced the real Kratt in blue, squirming.

"Awww... there, there, Marvin… you have a friend here." Martin said, trying to comfort his robot version.

" **M-Marvin?"** The Zachbot looked up, with oil escaping from his eyes.

"Well, your Zachbot "friends" never gave you a name. So I'll call you Marvin."

" **Marvin... I never had a name. I like it,"** Marvin said, embracing Martin again. " **Thanks... friend."**

"Uh. Guess you took care of things without me, huh?" Chris teased, as he arrived.

"There's always a better way of solving things," Martin commented. He sat on the floor while his Zachbot version laid close to him.

The flycam flew to Martin's location.

"Wow. I didn't know Zachbots could get tired."

"*yawn* Only low… battery..." Marvin fell asleep quickly, as his battery ran out.

"Low battery? That's it! They might have gained intelligence, but they're still battery-powered," Zach concluded.

"If he could be kind with an enemy...show kindness despite past problems..." Aviva thought. "Then so can I." Suddenly, the diamond started glowing intensely. Everyone covered their eyes as Aviva was surrounded by a white light. When the glow disappeared the crew gasped: there was Aviva, in a white outfit with a purple sash. Unlike the others, she had long, bell sleeves at her elbows with her hands wearing lavender armoured gloves.

"Whoa... a new Crown Form..." Koki analyzed, amazed.

"With Uranus' Diamond..." Ventus's eyes glowed.

"Step aside, please. It is my turn to help now." Aviva smiled, as she leaped to the HQ's door. She quite surprised about the distance she covered in a single bound. It was like she was light as a feather.

* * *

Martin plugged his robot friend for him to recharge, with the help of an extension he kept on his backpack. Of course, he had to secretly enter the mansion to turn it on.

"How did he fit that in there?" Zach had to ask, as he and Koki observed.

"Don't even ask. He just does it," Ventus replied.

Marvin yawned, as he woke up.

"And what do you know? It worked," Zach observed.

Aviva soon arrived with the wind and floated down to meet Martin.

"Wow, Aviva. You look awesome." Martin compliented.

" ***yawn* Good morning,"** Marvin greeted.

"Look, while your friend here recharges, we need to make a plan to defeat the Zachbots, so Zach can return to his mansion," Aviva reminded.

"Whoa whoa whoa… you're REALLY wanting to..." Chris asked, amazed.

"It's kindest thing I could do… isn't it?" Aviva teased.

"Yeah… totally." Chris chuckled.

"And maybe Marvin can help us here too." Martin looked at him. He thought for a moment, having an idea. "So… these other Zachbots have emotions like you?"

"Yup." Marvin nodded. Aviva, hearing Martin's plan, tried holding her laugh.

* * *

Marvin, once fully recharged, sneaked inside the mansion, like nothing happened. Then, he looked behind to be sure Martin, Chris and Aviva were alert.

He walked back to the main room, and stood behind the female Jimmy and male Koki.

" **Did you hear what he said?"** Marvin innocently told the female Jimmy. " **He said you hold your weapon like a human."**

The female bot growled in anger. Then, Marvin walked to the male Koki.

" **She said** **if ugliness were bricks, you would be the Great Wall Of China,** " he whispered.

The two robots, believing Marvin's words, started to fight with each other. Marvin signalized to Martin and Aviva, making them understand everything was ready.

 **"Judith! Kyle! What are you doing?!"** Toodles asked, bothered about the noise.

" **Sorry, Toodles, but this place belongs to our creator, and you don't have the right to do this,"** Marvin said. He gestured to the Air Guardian in her new Crown Form. " **You never respect me! You only ignore my ideas, because you think you're better. But I'm not gonna follow you no more, Toodles. I'm not staying with someone that doesn't like me!"**

Toodles observed, shocked. As any bully, he knew that his target wasn't alone anymore.

Aviva took out what looked like shurikens and threw them at the Zachbot troopers.

" **Uh-oh."** Toodles skipped from his throne and ran away, only to see Chris.

"Ahem. Guess we have some unfinished business, fella," Chris said. Then, he threw a vine around Toodles and the other two Zachbots, who simply knocked each other out. "All wrapped up, Aviva."

"You know this means... you're gonna..."

" **I know... but it must be done... for the good of others,"** Marvin said. " **Thanks, Martin... for being my friend and showing me… that I'm not alone,"** he said, with an oil tear on his eye.

Aviva looked at them. She sighed.

Martin embraced Marvin before Aviva could make them return to normal. Marvin waved to his friend, as the girl hit the Zachbots with her shurikens, turning them back to normal.

The Kratt in blue sighed, with a tear escaping his eyes.

"I know… he was a nice robot..." Chris tried giving his brother some comfort.

"What about..." Koki turned around.

"If you excuse me, I have some building to do," Zach said. "Zach's back, baby!" he laughed as he left the place with his Zachbots.

Koki grunted. "I thought he learned his lesson for once!"

"You know what, Koki?" Aviva said. "I think he might have a small chance." She smiled.

"Yeah," David said. "Maybe his reincarnation will make the right choice and change his course of destiny."

"Let's see... after all, the future does bring lots of surprises," Aviva said.

* * *

The crew was reunited in the Tortuga's shell. Martin sighed, missing his friend. The rain finally stopped, and the blue sky appeared once more.

" **Hey, fellas!"** Marvin surprisingly appeared.

"Marvin! But... how?" Martin gasped.

"Well... I did owe one to Zach," Aviva said.

"Aw... thanks, Aviva."

"No, Martin, I'm the one who should thank you... not only Zach, but you also taught me something valuable about kindness."

" **You're nice, Aviva,"** Marvin said. " **But I just passed by to say good-bye."**

"You're leaving?"

" **Yeah... I'm confident that I'll find my place on this big ol' world,"** Marvin said. " **And now that I can recharge with sun and moonlight, I have no longer anything to fear."**

"Just keep in touch, fella," Martin said, as Marvin embraced him.

" **I will. See ya, guys!"**

The crew waved to Marvin, as he left from the Tortuga's shell.

 _Aviva (voice-over): "Zach and I have been rivals for a long time... but when it comes to kindness, you can't be only nice to who's nice to you. We need to be nice, or at least try to be, with anyone that needs it. And I should know from my previous mistakes that even the hardest of hearts can have a secret soft side... and I guess Zach showed me this. Probably, he'll end up returning to his normal self again, but you know what? At least I know there IS still hope for him."_

* * *

Secretly, Zach looked into his desk and saw a picture of him and Aviva embracing. How he ever got this, no one knew.

Marvin passed by Varmitech building, flying around the city.

" **Goodbye, Varmitech Building... hello, big old world."** He flew around, in his new holographic form, with a different hairstyle and clothes.


	20. Episode 21: Let Them Eat Cake

Jimmy picked up all his cooking stuff from the Tortuga's storage.

"Let me get this straight: you're going to cook for kids?" Ventus asked.

"Not for just any kids. I'm volunteering as a cook at the orphanage, and I'm going to cook especially for the soccer team," Jimmy explained. "The little athletes will surely love my treats."

"I don't doubt that. You're the best cook I know," Koki complimented her boyfriend.

"Uh… but why?" David asked. "Don't they have a chef around there?"

"Their chef was dismissed, and their orphanage is about to close, unless they get the money to pay the rent and to fix some stuff arond there. Plus… mom has been feeling lonely, and she would love some company now that she's retiring, so..."

"She'll give a lair to a poor unfortunate soul from there? Aww, that's so thoughtful!" Clarissa afirmed.

"The orphanage situation can't be that bad… can it?" David asked.

* * *

The crew arrived at the orphanage: it was pratically near crumbling.

"Oh..." David gulped.

"Look! The Wild Kratts!" one of the orphan girls pointed out, calling the others' attention. In a few seconds, almost a hundred kids came swarming out the front door and onto the front lawn. Even the puppies they raised there rushed to meet the crew.

"Puppies!" Mina cheerfully said, with glowing eyes.

"They're so cute!" Elsa squealed, picking up a little grey pup.

Clarissa chuckled, as they licked her face. "Okay, you little rascals! Stop it!"

"How they're able to take care of pups too is beyond me," Ven stated. Several kids were looking at him. "Uh, hello."

"Are you related to the Kratt Bros?" one boy asked.

"Um..." He meddled with his fingers. "Yes, but not exactly in the way you expect."

"Oh, thank goodness you all came." One of the caretakers from the orphanage aproached the team. "I'm Ms. Gardenia, the last caretaker of the Sunlight Orphanage. As you could notice, our condition to raise the children here is surely not one of the best."

"Really?" David asked, with a sarcastic tone. "Haven't noticed."

"Jimmy told us you couldn't pay the rent or anything to fix this place," Aviva commented.

"Yes. Unless we gain the big prize in the soccer competition, I fear we'll… close the orphanage, and these poor little things will be left aside again," Ms. Gardenia lamented.

"No way, Jose!" Martin argumented. "Not with US here!"

"Martin's right. We're all living beings, and we must help each other," Chris pointed out.

"I'm gonna need all the help I can get. Thank you very much!" the caretaker said. Jimmy picked up his cooking stuff, and was soon surrounded by lots of glowing eyes.

"Jeepers..." He chuckled nervously. "When was the last time these tykes ate?"

* * *

The cafeteria soon was all cleaned up thanks to Martin and Ventus's combination of powers.

"Thanks for the help, guys. If I'm going to prepare something for them, can't work in a dump."

"You said it. Now, if you excuse me, I'll help Aviva with the soccer gear. Not only do they need to eat, but to practice as well," Ventus pointed out. "We'll see you later, JZ. Good luck."

In a few minutes, the whole cafeteria was crowded with elementary aged kids.

One of them, that seemed like the eldest of them all, with messy brown hair and grey eyes, came close to Jimmy.

"Hope we eat something good," he said rather demanding. "Our last chef sure didn't know a thing about good things to eat."

"Really?" Jimmy asked.

"If you even saw what he cooked, you would need barf bags. It looked like smashed slugs."

Jimmy flinched just by imagining the kind of stuff the kids used to eat. Then, he saw a reddish brown haired boy trying to get a seat. Around his neck was a broken, yellow stone on a black string.

"Hey, beat it! That's my seat!" One boy expelled the kid, rather brutally. Not wanting to fight, the kid retreated to an empty table in the corner. It seemed like no one even sat there.

"A-hem!" The brown-haired boy called his attention, making Jimmy look away. "So, you're going to cook something worth eating?"

"No need to worry, kids. I, the chef of the Wild Kratts themselves, will make the best food in your lives!"

"Okay then, can you make sure they're really sweet? The last guy made all this bitter stuff that we don't want to remember."

"Yeah!" a boy said.

"You said it, Buster!" a girl commented.

Jimmy, seeing the poor, famished look in the children's eyes, couldn't say no. "No problemo! Prepare yourselves for a gourmet meal!" He emphasized by pulling up his sleeves.

In half an hour, Jimmy returned from the kitchen with two attached food carts. The children's sights were delighted of seeing millions of cakes, brownies, cookies, and ice cream.

"Wow… how did he cook these things so fast?" a girl asked.

"Who cares? Let's eat!"

"Uh… shouldn't you start with some of the first cart's treats?" Jimmy suggested, showing them the first cart of fruits and vegetables. "Now, you kids eat, while I'll go check the field for the training." He left the room, dusting off his flour-covered hands.

"Why leave the tastiest of the food in last place, when we can have them now?" Buster pointed out.

"Uh, well, that's not how it really works," the skinny, reddish brunet said timidly.

"What do you know about how things work, Jake?" Buster said intimidately. The bully grabbed a brownie and bit into it. "Yum! These _are_ the best! Not like that disgusting thing Mr. McGee used to cook for us."

"You didn't even taste it..." Jake mumbled, as he walked away, but not before secretly snatching some pieces of fruit from the first cart. With a plate of the fresh berries, and a cupcake for dessert, the kid hightailed out of the cafeteria.

"Just grow up, twerp!" Buster teased, making others laugh. Jake whimpered behind the door a little before biting into an apple slice. His eyes widened and he smiled in delight before skipping off.

* * *

"Okay, amigos!" Aviva called the kids. "Time for training! I want each of you in perfect shape for the soccer competition."

"Yes, sir!" the kids cheered. Their mouths sure had some food on the outside, but they ran and played like never before.

"Amazing!" Ms. Gardenia affirmed. "A month ago, they couldn't even kick the ball, but now, their energy is back!"

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Martin gasped. "Thay haven't eat for a MONTH?!"

"Like I said, we can't afford the best conditions for them. The last chef was dismissed, but I'm not so sure he'll return," the caretaker pointed out.

"Really? Why?" Jimmy asked.

"He said that the kids… simply refused to eat his food," Ms. Gardenia told them. "They merely used the food he made as projectiles in food fights." Jimmy gulped.

"Don't worry, Ms. Gardenia. No one will toss Jimmy's food," Chris assured. "It's too delicious to be thrown."

Jimmy caught sight of something off. The reddish-haired kid from earlier was sneaking out of the cafeteria with a bowl of salad and a yogurt cup.

"And he is..." Jimmy wondered, until he was hit by the soccer ball.

"Our ball boy. No one important," Buster, coming to pick the ball, pointed out. "Sorry about that. Need practice on my Rocket Kick." Soon, Jimmy's attention was returned to the other kids.

"I'm glad they finally abandoned this habit, and took the time to eat something," Ms. Gardenia commented. "Please, Jimmy, can you and your friends keep them happy and ready for the competition? It's our only hope."

"Sure, Ms. That's why we're here." Jimmy saw the pleadding look in the caretaker's eyes. He sure didn't know how to say no for that face.

Behind the cafeteria door, Jake jabbed some lettuce and a tomato with his fork and put them in his mouth. He hummed in bliss at the taste of the fresh veggies before walking off.

* * *

As the kids reunited for dinner, and the team laid exhausted on their beds in the Tortuga, Jimmy remained in the kitchen. Jake wanted to congratulate him for the excellent food and tell him about Buster, but the bully himself came in front, pushing him aside, and being followed by the rest of the kids.

"You passed our test, Jimmy Z. Never before we had a good chef arond here," the boy said.

"Aw, geez. I'm just doing what's right," Jimmy assured.

"What's right, eh?" Buster showed him a list. "Look, the competition is only a few weeks from now. We need you to make sure we remain happy and ready, just like Ms. Gardenia said. You don't wanna disappoint her, neither us, do you?"

"Uh… no. Of course not."

"Then keep cooking the things we want and need. Same as ever. No changes."

Jake gulped. This sure was NOT going to end well. But, as always, neither Jimmy nor the rest of the team would hear him.

* * *

*BG music: Matthew Wilder - Break My Stride*

Days passed, and Jimmy kept cooking, following Buster's main orders. Every time though, he saw the same boy sneaking away with the healthier stuff as if he'd get in trouble for it. He would've followed one day if it wasn't for the slice of chocolate cake that suddenly came at his face. The kids were becoming more rowdy than usual.

Even though they were messy, no bigger complaints were made. But as the final days of training came, the kids, except for Jake, showed less and less enthusiasm in training. Jimmy, busy in the kitchen, didn't even notice that, and no matter how Jake tried to warn him, Buster always got there first.

* * *

"Well, kiddies, the competition's nearly here, and it's almost training time," Jimmy said, as he finished cooking. Then, he took a good look at the kids. They looked a little… well, nauseated. "Uh, is everyone okay?"

"Say that again and..." one boy snapped drowsily, but then, held his belly in pain.

"Maybe all you kids need is something good to eat. Nothing like good food to put a smile in these frowns faces. And by good food, I mean..." Then, he saw the first cart. "Hey… you didn't even touch the food in the first cart."

"That's the yucky stuff the last guy wanted us to eat!" a girl groaned.

"But… I thought you liked..." Jimmy gasped. Has he been fooled?

"Shut it!" Buster shouted grouchily, slamming his hands on the table. "There's only one person who's responsible for us looking like this, and it's YOU!"

"Uh... But… you… what?" Jimmy said lowly, afriad of what was coming and backing up.

"GET HIM!" Buster shouted with a plate of cake in his hand. Jimmy screamed and ducked into the kitchen. His cap had fallen off.

Outside the cafeteria door, the boy watched as a food fight broke out. He hugged the bowl with his fruit salad close, and quickly ducked behind the door before a plate of custard doughnuts could splatter him. With that, he retreated down the hall.

* * *

In the courtyard outside, the brothers and Koki were setting up the field for the kids' soccer practice again.

"I wonder how Jimmy is handling feeding all those kids," Martin said. "The competition is close, and so is the time for them to pay the rent."

"Probably he's running to get seconds because his cooking is number one," Chris replied.

"You can say that again," Ven commented. The four then heard a door open. They looked to see the reddish brunet checking for any other kids, his fruit salad in hand. "That boy didn't even wait for a line to be formed." They watched as the orphan sighed in relief and walked out onto the grass.

"Lunch shouldn't even be over yet. And it doesn't look like he's even touched his food."

"Why is he being secretive?"

"Um, is it okay if I eat out here?" the kid asked the grown ups. "I don't want my food to be thrown away." The trio looked at each other in a bit of confusion before turning their attention back to the boy.

"Uh, I'm sure the teachers won't mind. As long as you finish it."

"Thrown food?" Koki thought.

"Thank you." The boy walked over to the nearby bench before sitting down.

"Okay..." Koki found the boy's comment rather… curious, and decided to get some answers. She had to wait a moment since the kid had already started digging into his salad. He had a gleeful look on his face as he chewed the sweet fruit.

"So good. The others don't know what they're missing," he said mid-chew.

"Excuse me for interrupting your lunch, but what's this about food being thrown away?" Koki asked the boy.

* * *

Jimmy panted as he cleaned the mess the kids caused from the food fight. He eventually fainted from tiredness.

Koki stormed through the door, and saw her boyfriend with an exhausted look.

"Jimmy!" She helped him up. "Oh my gosh… what a mess!"

"The kids got all mad at me. I don't get it… I cooked this and all they asked for all these days, and they all loved it so much..." The girl Guardian inspected the smushed food. They were all sweets and pastries.

"James Norville Z, do you even realize what you're feeding those kids?! They're completely unhealthy!" Koki scolded. "And the soccer competition is close. They won't have the energy needed to compete."

"I thought I was helping them… I offered them good things, and they didn't even… try them… I was only trying to not hurt anyone's feelings… but that hasn't helped at all..." Jimmy lamented.

Koki sighed. She knew two things: 1#: Jimmy had the best of intentions to help, and 2#: it wasn't completely his fault.

"It's okay to give people what they want out of the goodness of your heart, JZ, but you can't let others take advantage of that. Trust me, I know how that feels." The female Fire Guardian stood up and started heading to the door. "I'll be on the field. Let me see if some exercises can cheer them up." She left the small classroom, leaving JZ time to think.

"Can I come in?" a voice asked timidly. Jimmy looked at the door, seeing the kid that always snuck out of the cafeteria.

"Sure. Come here."

The boy brought… Jimmy's cap? It was really clean, like no food ever touched it.

"I… couldn't keep myself from listening what you talked about. And I… I guess I tried to tell you what she said before."

"You… did? But I..."

"You didn't pay attention… I know," the kid stated. "No one ever listens to me… just because I'm… not like them… Even if I do have a reason to worry… it's like everyone is more important than I am."

"Yeah… more important..."

Jimmy saw the sad look in the boy's eyes. Being ignored was really hurtful, and he sure knew that. Since childhood, he never got many friends, besides his family.

"I wish they were more like me… and tried different things. I always sneak out after picking some of the healthy things you made. The salads were really good by the way. The leaves are fresh and crunchy and I really like the red stuff."

"You mean the tomatoes?"

"Yeah, but a little bit of pepper would be great to add. Just a pinch. That would make it really scrumptious." The boy licked his lips at the thought. "Oh, not that any of the food you made was bad. Trust me, best food I ever tasted."

"Really? You tried it?"

"Certainly. The desserts were great too, but I made sure to have more of the good stuff. Oh wait, you don't even know my name!" The child gave a small laugh.

"Yeah… I didn't even worry about asking..."

"Jacob. But I rather be called Jake."

"Well, you're a really good kid, Jake. I'm sure any family would love to have a kid like you."

"Um… no one ever adopted me. Others get much more attention for playfullness and kindness, but no one ever gets the eye on me. Maybe because everyone casts me aside like I'm not good, without even knowing me… like what they did with your healthy goodies..."

"Jake..." The Fire Guardian placed a hand on the kid's shoulder.

Jimmy saw Jake pouting, and then, the kid's medallion's light glowed on Jimmy's cap. Jimmy's eyes glowed yellow in realization.

"Come on!" He stood up. "We have to get cooking!" Pulling up his sleeves, he held a hand out to Jake.

* * *

"Come on, kids! We just started, and you're already tired?" Martin ran around with the ball. The orphans were all out of breath.

"Bet they can't even get it past me!" Jake stated, standing in front of the goal with his arms crossed and a serious look on his face.

"Is that an insult, pipsqueak?!" Buster shouted. "My "Rocket Kick" will blast you over!"

"Let's see then." Growling, Buster grabbed the soccer ball before punting it with all his might. It went at a fast speed, but Jake simply took a few steps and caught it with one hand. The other children gasped.

"That's impossible! How did you catch that?!" Buster questioned in shock. Jake tossed the ball up and down as if it was weightless.

"I ate my vegetables," he stated simply. "Which is what everyone should've been doing instead of pigging out over chocolates and custards."

"What?" Ventus stated, surprised, calling the team's attention.

"They have been using one's generosity for their own selfish intentions," Koki pointed out, reaching the team. "They can't even jump like when we met them. Well, except for the boy there."

"His name is Jake." Jimmy walked outside, with a bowl of soup. "He dared to experiment different, instead of boss around the one that did his best to make you all happy. And now, look at him. He seems like the only one able to exercise."

"I can do that too!" Buster stated. "I… just need to..."

"Buster, do what you tell me and grow up," Jake said firmly. "Healthy food is not going to kill you."

"What'd you say, you pipsqueak?"

"What I should have said!" Jimmy stepped up. "I only tried to make you happy. But I wasn't helping at all being all that nice to you all. I should have seen your trick before."

"But we-"

"No "ifs", no "buts", no coconuts!" Jimmy stated. Jake failed miserably in hiding a laugh. "Now let's return to the cafeteria and eat… this time, the right things."

Buster and the kids looked behind. The Wild Kratts stared at them, with stern looks. With a gulp of nervousness, the children walked back in silence, except Jake who chatted with Jimmy as they followed the others.

* * *

Jimmy's firm attitude surely was resulting. For the following days, the kids had a lot more energy for eating more healthy things, and didn't fear experimenting JZ's food anymore. Buster, on the other hand, was expelled from the team.

The day of the competition came along, and everyone cheered for the orphanage team. The kids easily creamed the other teams. Jake seemed to be the most determined and pumped out of all of the kids, being "promoted" from simple ball boy to captain of the team.

Jimmy (voice-over): _Jake and Koki were right. Even though you mean good, you should not let people take advantage of your generosity. It can lead to problems, no matter how big or small they are. We must do not only what's good for others, but also the right thing._

In the end, with the final goal provided by Jake, the orphanage team won the championship, and the money, even more than enough to save the building and pay the rents.

"Thanks, Jimmy. With the money we won from the competition, the orphanage is saved."

"Aw, shucks. It was nothing, really." Jimmy blushed.

"Uh… we're sorry we took advantage of you..." Buster pointed out. "We were selfish and silly. Now we know that generosity in excess can be dangerous."

"As much as other good things in life," Ventus pointed out.

"Oh, and these kids are so precious," Gina commneted. "I think we should adopt one of them."

Jimmy smiled at her decision. "And I know just the one," he guaranteed, passing by the kids. "This little guy here, that surely is more than meets the eye." He held Jake's hand, who in response, hugged him.

"I'd love to be your bro, JZ!" the child cheered. Jimmy lifted him up, and gave him his cap, and the boy gave him his medallion.

"Say, where did you get this?" Jimmy asked the owner of the necklace. He could feel warmth and power from it.

"Found it while cleaning up the leaves from the orphanage's yard. I think of this as a good luck charm, and made a wish when I got it. I wished to have a new family soon."

"And that's just what you'll have, kiddo."

"Now… anyone up for some cake?" Martin asked, already having eaten a full piece.

The kids refused, uncertain, while Jimmy and Jake chuckled. Both started eating down two slices of white cake as the stone glowed yellow.


	21. Episode 22: When Time's Too Slow

"Finally… my time to rise has come, Otto." Amelia stepped forward from behind some trees. "My army is now strong, and I am ready to get revenge on those Wild Kratts."

" _Mein master_ , your army's ready for action at your signal." Otto stood in front of the "army".

"Excellent." She smiled. "Soon, _meine armee_ , we'll attack with such intensity they won't know what hit them!" She cackled evily.

* * *

The team trained in the park as usual. Mina and Bites occupied themselves with a pillow fort.

"Come on, guys! Speed it up. I have people to go and places to meet! Let me have a turn!" David complained, as he prepared his thunder powers.

"Calm down, grasshopper," Chris commented, with his eyes closed as he trained with his vines. "Patience is a virtue."

"Since when are you a wiseman?"

"Why do you think he's our leader?" Martin commented, preparing a water attack. "His motto is to always be the best he can."

"And mine is… LET'S FIGHT NOW!" David quickly sent a bolt of lightning at Chris. However, a crystal wall came up, and it bounced back at him. The Time Guardian fell onto his back with an "oof".

"David!" Aviva complained. "I can't concentrate." She was trying to meditate on an air cloud. David grunted, turning around and kicking Mina and Bites' pillow fort down.

"HEY!" The two of them argued. But he simply grunted louder.

"There goes a one-hour job," Bites complained.

"Help! Help!" Gavin came running.

"Gavin?" Martin immediatly stopped training. "What's up, sport?"

"*huff* Forest…. trees… So many Predators…"

"Future Predators?!" Elsa exclaimed. "Where? When? How?!"

"Calm down, folks. We better give him some space first," Bites pointed out.

"Where there's Predators, there's Amelia right behind them," Daivd said with a smirk, punching his hand. "Finally that witch has made another appearance. I say we go see the situation now!" He went running in the direction where Gavin came.

"David, we can't just rush at her without a plan!" Chris argued, standing up. "Wait!" He grunted, seeing he was already really far. There was no choice left but to follow him.

* * *

The team arrived at the location, and gasped at the horrifying sight of a destroyed piece of the park.

"Wow… what a mess." Ventus observed the surroudings. Trees were destroyed by the creatures, leaving many critters homeless.

Chris stood still, as if listening intently.

"The trees… the forest. I hear its pain. Sounds strange, but I do." Chris brought a hand to his head.

"It could be like me with marine creature telepathy. Maybe because of Forest Crown, you're more connected to the Earth," Martin suggested.

"Then I think this calls for a bit more Crown Power," Chris decided, activating his Forest Crown.

"But what about Amelia? She probably is hiding somewhere around here, preparing another attack," David started. "You'll take YEARS to fix everything here!"

"Don't be ridiculous, David. We'll do it in less time than you think!" Chris affirmed.

"Look, some of us need to stay and build new homes for these poor little critters," Koki stated, with some squirrels in her arms. "Me, Jimmy, Chris, Martin, Ventus and Mina will stay. The rest can go out and look for Amelia."

"I'm seeing a Predator!" Bite-Size stated, flying high. "It's headin to a portal!"

"Then what're we waiting for?!" David stated at the rest of the team. "Come on, come on, come on!"

"David, wait for us!" the Time Nymph called, as they hurried after him. Ventus sighed.

"When's he going to learn?"

"Jimmy, look!" Koki pointed out to the necklace her brother gave to her. It seemed to respond to Jimmy's adopted brother's gift.

"Uh, Koki, your necklace is…"

"So is yours…" The two looked at the glowing stones. Once they joined them together, their glow surrounded the couple. Chris stopped what he was going to do.

"Wow..."

* * *

"We're getting really close to get that Predator! Hurry! Seriously, you guys!" David argued. The Future Predator used something glowing on his neck to open a portal. The team crossed the portal before it could close.

"Phew! We made it," Bite-Size panted. "But where he is?"

"Aw, dang it! We lost her!" David grunted. Then, he looked around. "Hey… this is… Uncle Cronos's Temple..."

"But what would Ms. Dictator Imitation want with the Greek God of Time?" Elsa wondered.

"God of… Time?" David asked. His shard of the Time Gem then started to point to somewhere. "Hey! What the..."

"Hey, it was like that for Martin too at Poseidon's temple," Aviva pointed out.

"Does it want me to go inside?"

"Probably."

"I know Cronos really well from him teaching me how to properly use my powers," Elsa explained. "He was the only god for the job."

"And I still am, wise Time Nymph, " an old man, holding a scepter, approached the group.

"Uncle Cronos!"

"He's huge!" Aviva shouted in shock, seeing him taller than even a giraffe.

"Of course, silly. He's a Titan. Entities, aka Gods can change their size," David told her. "Most just prefer being human size, like the ones you saw before."

"Oh... right."

"It's great to see you, Uncle. I fear not only my friends' world, but your world as well is in terrible danger."

"I know… I've seen her," Cronos admitted. "They broke into my temple and destroyed everything, and tried to take away… this." He showed them a small silver clock.

"The Chrono Clock?"

"The Chrono what?" Mina repeated.

"It's a relic from my inventory. This small device has the ability of freeze people and things in time, and it can change its appearance to fit the current age."

"That's why it looks so much like _mi abuella'_ s favorite watch," Aviva pointed out.

"However..."

"There's always a however with power," David whispered to Elsa.

"It is extremely powerful, but if overused, it can cause permanent damage to time itself. This is why I'm trusting it… to you, David." Cronos handed the clock to him.

"Eh? Me?"

"Him?" Elsa wondered.

"I am sure you'll use it with wiseness. The Chrono Clock will help you to stop Amelia."

"Really?" Elsa couldn't believe what she was hearing, but she decided to leave it alone and see where this could end up.

"Yeah, yeah, sure, Uncle. Now we gotta hurry to find her!" David said, leaving the temple, being followed by the team.

Cronos observed them leave, sighing. "Well, guess I'll have to clean all this up myself..."

* * *

"Okay… if we're gonna get Amelia, and since the rest of the team is too busy trying to fix the mess left by her and the Predators, guess we need some quick training," David decided.

Seeing a leaf falling nearby, he pointed the clock to it and… it froze in mid-air.

"Wow..." Aviva stared, impressed. Then, a curious squirrel appeared, trying to pick up an acorn. David froze him in place, after unfreezing the leaf.

"Yeah, it works. But, bro, you remember what Uncle Cronos said about overus…" Elsa tried to alert, but she was interrupt by David as he froze her.

"Fine. Test complete," David concluded. "It works perfectly. Amelia won't have a chance to deal with me when time's too slow for her!" He unfroze Elsa before entering the newly-opened portal along with the team.

"...ing the Chron- huh? HEY! Wait for me!" Elsa called, once she saw she was left behind by her impatiant brother.

* * *

Once the team arrived to meet the rest of the gang, they all were impressed with what they saw: it looked like nothing happened at all with that piece of the forest.

"Huh? Is this… the place destroyed by the Predators?" David asked in shock. The area that was destroyed earlier was covered in new trees and grass. The damage he believed to only be fixed in years was fixed earlier than he thought.

"It took a while, but it was worth it. And Koki and Jimmy's Crown Forms also helped, with a bit of magma."

"Magma?! Where did you get that?!" Ven almost shrieked.

"From underground," Koki said, stomping the ground a little. "It wasn't that hard with the help of our Magma Crowns."

"Frozen by water, and turned into rock that was perfect for new vegetation," Jimmy explained.

"Yeah. Exhausting to get it all to grow at once, though." Chris wiped some sweat off his forehead. "But the final result was worth it."

David looked at the four. They had worked together to revive and create. It took them time, but they did it.

"Maybe Chris was right… maybe patience IS a virtue..." But then he looked down at the clock. "But it's too late to turn back now..."

"So… any luck with Amelia?"

"No. She disappeared. They tried taking this from Uncle Cronos, but now I'll keep it away from her." He showed them the Chrono Clock.

"Not for long, _mein feind_!" They all heard a voice from the dephts of the forest. Amelia approached them with her new army of Predators.

"Amelia Cutter! Finally showing your cowardly face to us!" David said.

"Coward? Watch your tongue, _elend junge_!" Amelia pulled something off her neck. It was some kind of pearl on a string.

"That's..." Luna gasped. "That's a crystal from the Gaia Scepter! Apollo's Pearl!"

"But how did you ever get your hands on it?" David asked.

"I found it laying around the woods after my first failure to annihilate you in this timeline," Amelia remembered.

" _I was furious… then as I found other creatures to create a new army, this small thing helped me to control their small minds._

 _"With my genetic knowledge, even though these creatures are less well-developed than the ones in the future, I succeeded in creating a new generation of Predators."_

"And now, I shall use this army to annihilate you all!" Amelia lifted up the pearl, and the light called for the creatures Amelia controlled now. "Destroy them all!"

"Okay! Showtime, you guys!" Chris activated his Crown Form again, being followed by the rest of the team: the Wild Kratts activated their Crown Forms, Clarissa called for her wolf form and Ventus used his powers. David stood in front with the clock.

The Predators charged against all the team, but eventually David stood in front of each and every member just to freeze the Predators in place, not letting the team act once.

"David, what are you doing?!" Chris asked, once the Time Guardian interrupted him.

"Ending this as fast as I can, not wasting time at all!" David bragged.

But while he froze the Predators, really full of himself, he didn't notice his teammates being floated to a cage by the pearl's powers.

"Is that all you have, Ame..." David was saying, until he looked behind to see his friends trapped and about to be thrown in a puddle of drowning mud.

"No matter where you are, your weakness remains the same, Genosharp," Amelia commented. "Always impatient, wanting to solve everything yourself. Either you surrender to _mein armee,_ or your friends will drown!"

"NO!" David growled, pressing the Chrono Clock button once more, not noticing it was going beserk, until the sound of a crack was heard. In that moment, the device exploded in David's hand with such intensity it pushed him to the floor.

David gasped in horror: in his try of freezing time for Amelia, he ended up freezing all of time itself for his friends as well. They were all freezed in time… perhaps forever. And the Chrono Clock was broken.

"My friends... what have I done?" His legs collapsed from beneath him from shock and tears fell from his eyes. "This is all my fault… I was such a fool to believe that the fastest way was the best way… And now... I'm stuck in this frozen world… forever..." This last word echoed.

He looked down at the broken clock. It was in a certain angle that made the sunlight bounce off. The sheen got in his eyes, making them grey for a moment. The Time Shard glittered in the same light.

Suddenly, he felt a breeze, and this surprised him. Everything started to move again

"D-did I... unfreeze time?" David gasped, not believing. Then, he heard the team screaming in panic as the cage drowned more and more in the mud.

"What's happening?!" a yell from Amelia caught his attention. The pearl started to heat up in the dictator's hand, making her let go of it.

The pearl floated down to David's hand. The Time Shard around his neck began to glow, reacting to the pearl. Then, the shard grew into a medallion with the WK symbol.

He looked at the pearl in his hand. In determination, he looked up at the scientist. "I'm the Nature Guardian of Time and Patience, David Genosharp! And no one treats my friends like this!"

*BG music: Metallica - For Whom the Bell Tolls*

The light of the pearl surrounded him. As he remained with his eyes closed, surrounded by a silver light, he held the small stone tightly with one hand, and held the bars of his cage with another, making them rust and eventually crumble. The crew came out of the mud quickly, before the rusted cage sank.

As the glow died down, David was wearing gray and copper samurai like armor with silver streaks in his hair and his eyes a pale gold. The Pearl was now in a copper helmet-like crown.

Amelia growled in anger, trying to send her Predators to attack the Guardian. But since she didn't have the pearl, they didn't obey her anymore.

"Heh… Looks like it's just you and me now," he teased, with a slightly silent tone.

While she tried the best she can to attack him, he simply waited for the woman to reach him to move aside at seemingly fast speeds.

"Is he moving faster?!" Jimmy questioned in awe.

"No, Jimmy... He made time slower around him, making it look like his speed increased!" Elsa stated, remembering it as her time trick.

"What?!" Amelia yelled in frustration. "How dare you... That pearl is mine!"

"Not anymore, _mein feind!_ " David announced. A goldish light appeared in his hand. When it faded, there was the Crossbow. He shot an arrow at Amelia, trapping her in a time-space sphere and then he shot again, creating a portal.

Amelia found a way of popping the sphere, and complained in German, proclaiming to return, while Otto helped her escape.

David, feeling the power within him fade, felt himself fainting, as the crew reunited around him.

* * *

"Ugh..." David woke up, dizzy about the incident, surrounded by the team.

"Relax, kiddo. We felt the same in our first use of the Elemental powers, but you'll get used to it," Martin assured.

"Well, the good news is the Time Gem is repaired. The bad news is that we couldn't reach Amelia," Chris told David.

"She escaped?!" David gasped. Then, he thought. "You know what? Forget her for now. I'm just glad you all are okay. I'm sorry if my impatience got you in such trouble."

"Nah, we know how it is to suffer the consequences of impatience," Martin affirmed, staring at Chris.

"You know, it's kinda ironic… Amelia was stronger in Patience than me, the Guardian of it…"

"Yeah, boy. Just because you symbolize Patience, it doesn't mean you'll always show it," Chris said. "If you want, I can help you with this. We all can."

"Even knowing it might take long for us to have a chance of getting Amelia again… this time, I'm willing to be patient. In baby steps, but I will. I promise," David said, and the team agreed that was a good way to start. "Uh… Luna, since you're here..." he asked. Luna, knowing exactly what he wanted to do, picked up a scroll and a pen.

"Spill it out, kid."

" _Dear mother,_ _I thought freezing time in my favor was the quickest way of defeating Amelia, but in my impatient way of acting, I ended up puttinmg my friends in danger, and even getting in danger myself. I learned in the hard way that as slow as it may be, being patient and remain calm are virtues to be considerated."_

Mina threw a pillow on him. "Hey!"

"You owe us a pillow fort, mister!" Mina proclaimed.

"Aw, come on! You're still mad about that?" David asked. "I was angry, and I already said I was sorry, Mina."

"It's not that easy to build one, you know!" Bites pouted. "Why don't you get over here and help us re-build it?"

David wanted to discuss, but… he knew they were right. He DID destroy it, so he had to fix it.

"Fine..." He walked to help her and Bites, but was hit by the two of them, and eventually this became a pillow fight between them all.

The team's concentration was broken by David, Mina and Bites' laughs, and of course, they decided to join the fun.

Cronos appeared through a portal, exhausted after cleaning the mess in his temple. Luna, seeing him appear, gave him the broken Chrono Clock.

"Well, looks like Hephaestus will have something more to fix today. Hope it did help David."

"You don't know how, Cronos. You don't know how," Luna affirmed.


	22. Episode 23: Winds and Wings of the Garde

Ventus woke up one morning in his hammock between Martin's and Chris's, who were both still sound asleep. He looked around the Tortuga, but noticed one hammock empty.

Aviva observed the sunrise on the shell, her medallion in hand. Ventus looked from the Tortuga's shell.

"Hey… woken up early?"

"Morning, Ven. I actually… haven't slept well," Aviva admitted. "You know, I've been thinking… I think I'll never find love, if I keep this habit of having current crushes."

"Hm..." Ventus observed her worry.

"You know… every girl dreams about a knight in shining armor, but me… I dreamt about an angel. A beautiful, strong angel with silver wings."

"An angel?" The description sounded familiar, surprising him.

"*sigh* But who am I kidding? I think I'll never find this angel..." Aviva said, going back inside. Ventus sighed.

* * *

Later in the HQ, David read one of Chris's books about mythology. Then he saw Aviva and Koki.

"Where are you girls going?" David asked, seeing them with purses.

"I'm taking Aviva for a walk. She sounded really depressed this morning," Koki said, "Hey… where are the other boys?"

"Well, the Hesperides called for help. Something about "mysterious bites in their golden apples"..."

* * *

In the Hesperides' garden, the boys investigated the golden apples.

"Hmm..." Chris observed the bite marks in an apple. "The jaw size is a little big to be a little brown bat. But I can't quite identify these marks." His Creaturepod showed a crossed circle. "No match of any small herbivore with sharp teeth either."

"See? It couldn't be our bats. They're specially trained to never eat anything without our permission," Hesperie affirmed.

"Hm… well, we'll stay here till we find some clue to help you solve this mystery," Chris assured. "Don't worry, Hesperie. We'll solve this problem."

"We hope so. Zeus was utterly upset for the failure of our festivity," Erythea said.

"Uh… guys?" Ventus called. "Could you… come here a sec?" Martin and Chris agreed, making the Hesperides a signal to wait.

"Are you okay, bro?"

"Well… you know when I was a boy, back a 10,000 ago… I had a crush on Flora… a HUGE crush..." His face got a bit pink. "Well… now I..."

"You have a crush on Aviva," Chris said in a teasing tone. "Rather obvious, don't you think? Before you got your adult size, you always blushed close to her."

"Bro…" Ventus blushed harder.

"No worries, big guy. We'll let YOU tell her, when you're ready." Martin winked to Ventus.

"Thanks."

* * *

"Aviva, you can't just give up on love," Koki said. "Of course, you made some huge mistakes, but that's not a good reason to do it."

"I certainly agree," Clarissa commented.

"Maybe… but I don't feel… I don't know, ready for t-"Aviva bumped into someone. " _Ay, perdoname_! I wasn't looking."

"No, no, miss. It was my fault." The young lad offered his hand to her. He had yellow eyes and maroon hair. "My apologies. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Klaus."

"Uh… y-yeah.. I'm-I'm Aviva...Um... I'm Aviva..." Aviva blushed, awkwardly introducing herself. Clarissa and Koki rolled their eyes, and received a letter from the Kratt bros. She took his hand and he pulled her up.

"Aviva? The Wild Kratts' Aviva?"

" _Si_."

"Uh, Viva?" Clarissa called her attention. "The boys need us in the garden."

"Huh? Oh, okay." Aviva snapped out of her trance. "So… guess we'll see you later, Klaus."

"Fine for me. _Adios._ " He walked away. Aviva placed a hand over her heart.

"Here we go again..." Mina whispered to Elsa worriedly.

* * *

In the garden, the girls arrived.

"Over here, girls!" Bites in his human form called. Suddenly, Aviva felt a little sleepy.

"You guys go ahead. I guess I'll take a quick nap," she said.

"You sure, Aviva?" Koki asked.

"Yeah. Guess waking up really early wasn't the best idea."

"Okay, girlfriend. Don't sleep all day." The girls walked ahead as Aviva walked a bit away from the group. She stopped and sat under a bloomed cherry blossom tree. A few seconds later, sleep claimed her.

* * *

Aviva opened her eyes. She wasn't in the Hesperides' garden. It was some kind of village, a white stone city.

" _Hey, where's Terra?"_ she heard a young voice. Aviva turned around.

"Koki? Jimmy?" Well, they looked like Jimmy and Koki, but their clothes were old fashioned and Greek like. She then recognized them after a couple of seconds. "Rose… and Pyce?" Both were looking down a path. Aviva finally noticed the child standing with them. She had two wavy pigtails, held in place by two familiar hair clips.

"Flora?"

" _Mom! Aunt Athena! Did you find-" Flora came to a halt. Her mom was carrying a certain person's limp body in her arms._

" _T-Terra?" Hermia and Athena let some tears come to their eyes. "M-Mom, what happened to him?"_

" _Mom?" the fire nymph asked as she and Pyce came up to them. Rose gasped in horror when she saw Terra's body. Tears immediately sprung up._

" _Terra…?" The child touched his face. It was barely warm. "Mom, is he…?" She looked up at her, hoping to see a shed of truth in her eyes that this was a joke._

" _... He is," she said simply, the tears finally running down her face. Rose buried her crying face into her boyfriend's chest. Flora, struck with complete sorrow, sobbed in her aunt's dress._ _Hermia brought her son closer to her, as if embracing him._

Aviva stared with teary eyes. "Oh Flora… it really was hard on you," she muttered.

A pink petal blew by on a breeze. It seemed to call her attention to behind her. When she looked, she was awed. In a void of white stood a peach blossom tree.

 _"It's nice to meet you finally..._ amiga _,"_ a woman's voice greeted. The mechanic looked at the base of the tree. A woman that looked just like her was seated on the base of a root. Her long, dark hair was down and wavy. Two flower hair clips kept her bangs back. There was a single hibiscus flower in her hair. She wore a tan, Greek top and a tan Greek styled skirt. It was held up with a flower pin.

Aviva was stunned. "Flora...?"

" _Hello, Aviva,"_ Flora greeted. " _Welcome to your mind. Better saying, your subconscious world."_

"Wow, I heard the guys once talk about meeting their past selves in their minds, but I never thought I'd meet mine." The passed Gaia Guardian chuckled.

"And... I'm sorry about Terra."

" _You know what? Guess I would not be perfect for him anyway,"_ Flora admitted.

"And neither would I for Chris. I still like him... but more like a friend now."

" _This does not mean you'll have to give up finding love. Who knows... maybe there's someone out there, waiting for you. He could even be nearby, if that were possible."_

"You think so?" She nodded. "Thanks Flora."

* * *

Aviva woke up after this, seeing a white Creature Power Suit behind her head. It was Ventus' CPS. But what was it doing there?

"Miss Aviva?" The Air Guardian looked up to see Klaus standing above her. The sky showed that it was sunset.

"Klaus? What are you doing here?"

"I could be asking you the same thing, sleeping out here." She blushes at that. "Here, let me help you up." He held his hand out. Aviva felt that something was wrong, but ignored it and took his hand. As she stood, she had a grip on the white CPS in her other hand.

* * *

"Hey, what's this?" David wondered, picking up a small, metal object out from under some bushes. "Hey guys, I found something!"

"What?" Chris asked, once they all got close.

"It looks like… a helmet with teeth," Mina said. "A helmet small enough for... a tiny creature."

"Uh… guys?" Jimmy pointed up. The team looked up to see… something like a cloud made of… small creatures.

* * *

"Isn't the sky lovely here?" Klaus asked Aviva.

"W-well, yeah, you are- I mean, the sky is lovely." She turned away from his face, blushing. It just felt right, but also wrong. She couldn't make any sense of it.

Shouts for help snapped her out of it. In the sky was a cloud of... bats and her friends!

" _Dios mio_!" she gasped. Suddenly, some of the bats swooped down at her. On instinct and in panic, Aviva summoned her tessens and blew them back in a gust of wind. What she didn't count on was the strange smell of Klaus's perfume knocking her out.

* * *

"Aviva! Come on, amiga! Wake up!" Koki called. Aviva woke up and sat up in a cage.

"I got her on my own, mother." There, in front of her was Klaus, with his mother… Donita Donata?!

"Nice work, my little smarty," Donita baby-talked with Klaus. Dabio huffed. He felt jealous that Donita didn't give her the respect she gave her son.

"You jealous, Dabio?"

"I'm her son, too. Adopted, but I am," Dabio admitted. The team's jaws dropped at that statement.

"You know, that actually explains a lot," Martin thought. Chris nodded in agreement.

"Dabio, stop speaking to them! Get over here and make my son some iced tea. He's thirsty after such a good job."

"Yes, Donita."

" _Q-que_...?" Aviva muttered in shock.

"I must say you were right, mother. She IS really easy to fool when it comes to love. No wonder guys use her in their plans," Klaus commented. "Oh, and yes. We know all about the Cyrano incident. What a silly woman."

Aviva started tearing up.

"But just because you're kinda cute, I'll make my slave bats attack as slow as possible," Klaus said.

The mind controlled bats circled the cage.

"Leave her alone!" Elsa shouted.

Aviva reached for her medallion, but found it absent.

"Oh, looking for this?" Donita held up her necklace. "Too bad. Really pretty, though. I might as well keep it."

Aviva shrieked in panic, seeing how much danger she and the gang were in.

* * *

Ventus, not far from there, picked up his CPS, which was not where he left it.

"What's this doing out here?" he wondered in confusion. He heard a shriek from not too far. "Aviva?"

"Ventus!" Bite-Size called in bat form. "It's terrible! Donita's crazy son has mind controlled bats that are going to attack the team! You have to save them!"

"You got it. And I've been waiting to do this again for a while." His eyes glowed silver and the wind picked up. Wings made of wind formed on his back.

"Whoa, with wings like that, the owls would eat my dust. When did you learn that?"

"10,000 years ago. Guess I know the angel Aviva's looking for."

"Her what?"

"Long story. But first, we got to save them." With that, the two took off.

* * *

" _Ay! Ay! Para!_ Stop it!" Aviva screamed when a bat bit her covered arm.

"Strangely, for a dream like this, I had my previous fear of bats," Koki said. "I was a children, so I didn't knew better."

"Knock it off, Dumbata!" Mina yelled.

"Quit speaking, pauper, or you'll go next!" Klaus menaced. "Nothing can stop us now, mother!" he vangloriated.

"Is that so?" a different voice questioned.

Suddenly, they heard a sound of… wings flapping. A winged silhouette was in the sky.

"Oh my Muses..." Chris gasped.

"Holy Cyclops," David mumbled in awe.

"Mess with someone of your own kind, you half-chewed casanova," Ventus said.

"It's..." Aviva recognized that silhouette from her dreams. "My angel..." Her eyes glowed.

Ventus flew down, grabbing Klaus and Donita by their arms. The two started screaming in panic when they were hoisted off the ground.

"Have a nice flight home!" The wind blew harshly as he threw the mother and son in the direction of a portal that led right to their mansion.

"Not AGAAAAIIIN!" Donita shrieked.

"Donita! Wait for me!" Dabio rushed after them both.

Quickly after, Ven sent a wave of wind at the bats, releasing them from the helmets. They immediately flew off as he touched the ground. The wings disappeared as he made a blade of wind and cut the lock to Aviva's cage.

"It was you… all along it was you..." Aviva's eyes glowed in charm.

"You alright, Aviva?"

"I am now." She hurried to him and embraced him tightly, kissing him firmly. Startled for the moment, Ventus's face became a sunset red, but he eventually wrapped his arm around her, taking Aviva with him to the air.

"I… sure didn't know they had a crush on each other," David commented.

"Really?" Martin asked.

"Of course not, dude. We all knew where this was going."

Ventus sighed. "Well… it was worth waiting all those years."

"Yes, it sure was," his love replied.

"Uh, hey you two lovebirds," Koki called. "And quite literally. Before you continue… can you get us out of here?"

"Oh. Right."

* * *

By morning, the Hesperides happily celebrated as their fruit bats return to their normal flying around the garden, safe from any accusations.

"We can't thank you enough for the help, Wild Kratts," Aegle affirmed.

"Hey, I say it was Ven here who did most of it," Martin commented. "He's the one that saved us and the bats. Speaking of him, where is he?"

"And where is Aviva?" Koki asked.

Mina pointed up. The team chuckled at seeing them dancing together in the air.

"Never I felt so happy in my life. Now I know how it feels to be truly in love," Aviva said.

"I hear you, _querida_."

"You speak spanish?" Aviva asked, surprised.

"Yeah… I do what I can," he said, blushing.

Aviva rested her head on Ventus's shoulder, feeling safe and loved at last. Ventus looked down, smiling at his brothers, then in response, nodded and signalized in approval.

Aviva's troubles with love, and Ventus's as well, finally were solved, practically gone with the wind. For all this time, the ones they wished for were right in front of each other.


	23. Episode 24: Pack of the Shadows

In the Appalachian Mountains, Martin froze the deserted pond for some summer ice skating.

"What previous Water Guardian never thought of this?" David asked as he got his ice skates on.

"Who knows?" Elsa shrugged. David chuckled, then looked at Clarissa. She seemed worried. Amazingly, for him… even worried she looked pretty. But why was she worried?

In pure curiosity, he approached the Tortuga's entrance to hear her conversation with Faust.

"Faust, I can't take no more waiting. I have to know about my past. There is more, and I know it," Clarissa spoke with Faust. "You told me your pack would know the answers. So… can you please take me to them today?"

Faust sighed. " **Yeah… guess I do have to take you there."**

"You're afraid that Darius will follow us, right?" Clarissa suggested, noticing the worry in his tone.

" **... Yup,"** Faust said. But deep within, it was not the true reason.

"Tell Faust to not worry," David assured, skating over to "them". "We can take him. We did once, then twice, so we can do thrice!" Ventus nodded in approval, and so did Chris, Martin and Mina. Clarissa smiled to them all.

* * *

In her wolf form, Clarissa led her siblings with Mina riding her, following Faust's instructions that leaded to the depths of the forest. David and Elsa looked around, uncertain of what they could find there. Martin and Chris's medallions glowed softly.

 _"I have a bad feeling here, guys,"_ Aqua said telepathically.

"I agree, dude. Something wicked this way comes..."

"Bro!" Chris elbowed him in the arm. "Lame reference..."

"Hey, it was the first thing that came to mind. Got a better idea? I'm all ears."

"Dudes," Ven interrupted. "No picking on each other now."

"Hush!" Clarissa warned. "Are you hearing that?"

They all quieted down to hear… howls and growls. All echoing.

" **We're almost there,"** Faust alerted. Then, the team reached a small cave. Clarissa took a look inside.

"Wow… it's bigger than it seems," she said, reassuming her human form. "Come on, you guys!" The team followed her, once they saw her entering the cave.

"It's pitch black in here," Chris complained. "How will we see wolves that are like the shadows themselves?"

"Elsa, think you can..." David started.

"You got it, bro." A small light came from the Time Nymph's hand, bright enough to illuminate the cave. The crew was impressed: the place looked like a wolf paradise in the dark. It was a grotto filled with plants and tunnels.

"Wow… as Aviva would say, _maravilloso_!" Ventus exclaimed.

"How come we've never seen this lupine wonderland?" Martin's eyes glowed.

"It's a mystical place, remember? Just like mom's temple, it's not on any map of the world," Mina reminded. "And those who don't believe that much don't see them."

"Good reminding," Martin thought. It was the same thing she said when they met for the first time.

Faust gave a howl of alert, calling for the Lupus. They all appeared in a few seconds, surprised.

 **"The Lupus Princess has finally arrived..."** a large Lupus with blue flame like aura greeted with a bow. He caught the scent of someone else. **"Her scent is the same as her ancestors. But… where is Faust?"**

"He's inside me… perhaps unlike my previous incarnations. You must be the alpha of the pack."

 **"Indeed. My name is Lunos. I take care of this pack since… well, always."** He showed around the pacific place. " **We're almost what's left of Lupus kind after the Red Claw pack was taken out… and our dear Queen gave her last breath."**

"Red Claw... That was Darius's pack along with Maximilian and Paris," Chris remembered. Lunos seemed to sneeze at the names.

 **"Did you say… Maximilian and Paris?"**

"Yeah, those two had been after me and Chris since we were kids," Martin replied.

 **"So that's what they were up to for all these years,"** Lunos growled. **"Those bloodhounds... Attacking children… Especially gifted ones."**

"But we were able to protect ourselves from them," Chris added. "We weren't ordinary kids after all."

" **Plus, you said Darius? He was the cause of our current situation,"** Lunos lamented.

"That's why we're here," Clarissa said. "Faust? Get over here, please."

Her CPS glowed a little before the lupus finally revealed himself. He was practically a wolf shadow with glowing yellow eyes. The team was astonished.

"Wow… flashbacks never lie," Martin muttered.

 **"Alpha..."** Faust greeted. " **This girl, as you said, is the current Lupus Princess. I please ask you to answer what I can't."**

 **"Of course, princess protector. Follow me, you all, and I'll give you all the answers you need."**

"You better stay here in the grotto's entrance, Elsa," Mina said. "Just in case you-know-who shows up. You never know..." The nymph nodded in understanding. The rest of the group followed the alpha and other pack members down one of the tunnels.

* * *

Meanwhile, two familiar muzzles appeared nearby the entrance of the cave.

"Well, well, well… we found them, Alpha Darius." They were Max and Paris. Darius stepped forward.

"We followed Clarissa's scent and it points to that small cave. Plus… there are the Wild Kratts' scents," Max pointed out.

"And you know what this mean, boys?"

"Finally, the chance we expected of taking over them showed itself," Paris pointed out.

"Not only that, boys… If Clarissa's here, this means Faust's here too. And so, it also means his pack is here! This can be finally our chance of dominating the Lupus dynasty, once and for all. For without the Queen's last descendent… nothing else will get in my way," Darius growled.

* * *

In the most underground of the tunnels, the team sat around the statue of a woman. She looked a lot like Clarissa.

"Is that..." Clarissa couldn't finish her question.

" **Yes. The Lupus Queen. She started our dynasty and brought peace between human and Lupus races."** Lunos started telling everything. " **You know the truth about Darius and about our previous lair's destruction due to Eris' war."**

*BG music: Smashing Pumpkins - 1979*

 _ **"When the war broke out 10,000 years ago, our kind was divided between Eris and the Queen. Darius, in his search of power, as you know, chose to fight for Eris, while we remained loyal to the Queen till the end of the war.**_

 _ **When our dear leader passed away, with her newborn daughter as the rightful heir, and Faust took her to the human world to be safe, Artemis and Athena led us until she was old enough to return. Around her 15 or 18 years in human age.**_

 _ **"It went on as this for the Princess's protection, and the pack under Eris, the Red Claw pack, had tried to find where we hid the Princess so they could kill her and become supreme alpha of all Lupus race.**_

 _ **"Darius was a beast with a lust for power, and wanted nothing more than to first take rule over us, then the whole magic world. How he got so insane, none of us know. And we hope to never know.**_

 _ **"Generations passed... and Faust always found a way to tell us of the new born descendents, and how they were maturing. Although we waited and waited to see our Lupus Princess… they never came.**_

 _ **"This… until Faust told about the most recent incarnation… the girl you name Clarissa. She was raised in a modest family… but treated well and loved by all of them.**_

 _ **"Somehow, Darius found Clarissa, and he attacked her host family under Faust's nose. In the nick of time, she escaped, but the memory left her scarred. So Faust made her forget what happened that night… and transported her to another location on the planet, on a rainy day."**_

"And that was when we met her." Martin put all the pieces together. "She was all alone in the rain and we adopted her in our family."

 **"Then we must thank you for taking our Princess in,"** Lunos thanked.

"I met her again once Darius found her again. I knew I needed to. It's in my soul, literally speaking, to be loyal till the end of the Queen's dynasty," Faust explained.

Clarissa looked once more to the statue.

"My ancestor… must've been a great queen."

" **She was. Loyal, gentle, protective… practically a mother to us all. I still recall the day she was crowned..."**

 _Lupus reunited around the temple. There, in front of them, was a young girl, and by her side, none other than Artemis._

" _With this crown and this decision, we proudly join Lupus and humans in pure harmony. Behold you all our Lupus Queen," Artemis proudly said, placing a flower crown on the girl's head, while the Lupus howled, celebrating._

"Dude… how do you remember this stuff?" David asked, amazed.

" **I'm a hundred thousand years old. Lupus aren't your everyday wolves, you know,"** Lunos answered.

"Not everyday, but most times..." Chris pointed out.

" **And for the Princess… only the best."** Lunos picked up the necklace off the statue. It had small diamonds and a Lupus symbol on the center, a wolf print.

"Oh, Lunos, thank you so much. But there's so much more I want to know..."

" **Well, you will know. For you finally returned to your home."**

"My… home?" Clarissa thought.

" **This is your home for right, Princess Clarissa. We've been waiting your return for all this time. We need you to guide us."**

"Are… you saying that… Clarissa will… remain here?" David gulped, having heard the whole conversation on the Creaturepods. "And I- uh, WE will never see her again?" The crew looked at each other. Never seeing Clarissa again?

" **We need her with us. We've been waiting for years for our rightful leader's return."**

"D-does she even have a choice in the matter?"

"David, you seem pretty against this," Ventus teased. "Is there a reason for it?" David blushed.

"W-well… um..."

"David have a crush on her. Obvious, but true." Chris made his "I-already-knew-that" face.

"Busted…" the Time Guardian muttered. Clarissa smiled. After all, her brothers already left it clear it was okay to them when she and David first met.

" ***sigh* I admit it. That's the reason why I didn't want to bring you here..."** Faust admitted. " **I didn't wanted to separate you from your family… neither from him."**

Clarissa nodded in understanding. Deep within, she felt that was a bit unfair, just like the incident with Martin and that Musketeer Law. She blushed when she realized that last part. He wasn't talking about David, was he?

Their chat was interrupted by a Lupus pup. " **Dad! Dad!"**

" **What's the matter?"**

"Guys!" Elsa called on the Creaturepod. "Max, Paris and Darius! They're here! And they're not alone..." She showed in the screen an army of shadow wolves with red marks.

" **That is impossible!"** Lunos gasped. " **Almost all of the Red Claw pack was eliminated in the battles during Eris' war."**

"Well, guess Darius met some new friends since the last time we've seen him," Chris said.

" **But our pack was the last. How could more appear?"** Lunos asked, not believing his lupine eyes.

" **Maybe it's possible… that there were hundreds of lone Lupus all over the world. And being the manipulator he is, Darius, as you probably say, led them to the dark side of the… moon?"**

"Force, Faust. Force," Martin corrected.

"Whatever, guys. They need need ME," Clarissa decided. David pouted. Did she… decide to stay?

"Fine. We'll help you all. It's our duty." Chris agreed. David nodded, although not agreeing with Clarissa staying forever with the Lupus. "Come on, guys! Let's go aid Elsa in the battle!" Once they all rushed to help, the Time Guardian placed a hand in Clarissa's shoulder.

"Look… um, Clarissa… we're happy you found the answers you wanted. Really, we are. We're just… sad for us. And… if there is no other way, and you… end up being here forever..." He was saying, blushing as hard, until she kissed him gently.

"I love you too, David. And don't worry. If Martin could prove the Musketeer Law unfair to Poseidon, maybe I can prove this situation unfair as well. But for now, they all need our help."

David agreed with her, and they rushed to help the others.

* * *

Darius stood in front of his army.

"Here was I, believing that nothing survived from the good ol' days… gladly I was wrong."

" **Don't you attempt to steal what's rightfully Princess Clarissa's!"** Lunos menaced.

"So many years, and you haven't changed a bit, Lunos..." Darius mocked.

At that moment, Clarissa arrived, ready to fight.

" **Your Majesty, we await your command to fight."**

"You really should have started fighting once you saw them coming," Clarissa commented.

" **Well… it's in our blood. We only fight when our Queen wants us to."**

"Sheesh." Ventus facepalmed. "Not to insult your loyalty to her, but come on! You're a Lupus pack that survived for eons _without_ a ruler! My mother told me!"

"Ventus is right," Clarissa proclaimed. "Just because I'm the newest Princess, it doesn't mean all these rules you've been waiting to follow all this time have to be followed like this! If you could survive peacefully and even build this safe place by yourselves, of course you're strong enough to fight not only for me, but for yourselves as well."

Clarissa's words were true. Realizing the error of their ways, Lunos stepped forward.

" **Our Queen is right! Let us fight not only for her, but for our peace as well!"** he proclaimed.

The Lupus prepared to attack, and so did the brothers and Time Guardian, who conjured their Crown Forms. The pack attacked with the strength of an army.

Max and Paris, as always, tried once more facing Martin and Chris.

"Well, if it isn't you both again..." Paris threatened.

"Idem." Martin gave his opponent a smile. "Are you sure you're ready to get soaked again?" He menaced with a water sphere.

"Don't think you'll even get close to last time," Chris added, chakrams ready.

"More new powers? You two surprise us every time we see you," Max commented.

"Utterly nice from you," Martin commented, before starting the fight. The brothers could notice Max and Paris WERE really much stronger than the last time they faced them. But they still had their new forms. Chris sent one of his chakrams at Paris.

Faust and Clarissa faced their old nemesis.

"So, you finally decided to stop using the Princess's body to face me, you coward?" the red-marked white wolf teased.

"Don't you dare call him a coward!" Clarissa defended Faust. "This Lupus is the most bravest and loyal I ever met."

" **Clarissa, go help your brothers. I'll deal with Darius."**

"But, Faust..."

" **Go! I'll be fine."**

The princess looked at him in uncertainty before nodding and hurrying to her brothers. Faust faced Darius once more and attacked.

The battle grew harshly, until the Red Marks started running away, defeated. Even the pups helped.

Martin and Chris were getting exhausted from using so much of the Crystals' powers against Max and Paris. Clarissa stood in front of them. Even without Faust with her, she needed to help her brothers. Unexpectedly of her, she succeeded in changing to wolf form.

"Wha-wha-what!?" Martin gasped.

"Wow… But how..." Chris wanted to ask.

"Not now, guys!" Clarissa reminded, grabbing Paris and throwing him at Max. "And you two, mess with someone of your own kind!"

Chris and Martin gained enough time to recover part of their strength to expel both Max and Paris with chakrams and water spheres.

In the end, Faust and Darius continued their fight, with the good Lupus severely wounded. Darius growled in triumph, as he watched his opponents tumbling.

"Guess it's finally official that you are and you'll ALWAYS be weak without her! Say good-night, Faust..."

"Oh, no, you don't!" Aviva in Sky Form yelled, throwing a shuriken at the evil alpha, knocking him down.

"Aviva?" Clarissa gasped, seeing her, Koki and Jimmy entering the grotto.

"We thought you might need help so we came," Aviva spoke up.

"Actually, YOU thought. We kept telling her you guys would be fine, but you know Aviva," Jimmy sighed, as Aviva signalized for him to not tell, facepalming in the end, blushing hard.

Faust stood up in front of Darius, even wounded, aided by Clarissa.

"We still stand against you, Darius. But where is YOUR army?" she spoke. Darius looked behind, to see his army abandoned him.

"I think it'll be best for all of us if you leave now and NEVER harm this pack again," David threatened.

Darius growled. "You haven't saw the last of me. None of you!" he menaced, running away. The crew looked at each other proudly, and David and Clarissa kissed.

* * *

Later, during the celebration of possibly Darius's official defeat, where even Artemis appeared, Clarissa put a glowing piece of crystal from the grotto on a string, and placed it on Lunos' neck.

"Think of this simple medallion as a symbol of your loyalty and reassurance of your place as a leader." Clarissa said, standing up after this. "You showed yourselves you can lead with the biggest of menaces on your own. So I think… no, I KNOW we should forget about this old legend you followed before ... and write a new one. For as much of royalty I am, my place is with my friends." The crew smiled at that suggestion, and so did Artemis.

" **I think we all agree, Your Majesty."** Lunos stepped aside. " **So stuck in the past, we forgot of what we're capable of, believing to only be strong again with the return of the heir. But today, with this battle, like you said, we proved ourselves wrong defeating Darius and his army and preserving our beloved Lupus Queen's sanctuary. And we have to thank you, Majesty, and also you, Nature Guardians."**

"Aw, shucks. It was nothing. It's just what we do," Martin said. "But, Clarissa, even without Faust, how you changed to wolf form?" The Lupus Princess shrugged in response.

"I believe I lived so long in her, that she eventually kept a small part of my power within, possibly her wolf form," Faust suggested, while his wounds were treated.

"Yeah, this makes sense." Chris understood.

" **And you, young lad..."** Lunos directed it to David.

"Y-yes sir?"

" **Take good care of our queen."** The two teens blushed, with the nymph sisters giggling at their embarrassment.

"You can count on it. You ALL can." David nodded, putting an arm around Clarissa. The Kratt brothers sighed as the Lupus howled and celebrated: their little sister was growing up, and there was nothing they could do.

"Mina..." Chris called the young nymph's attention. "You promise to not grow up THAT fast, okay?"

"Chris, no matter how much me or Clarissa grow in size or in royal condition, we'll always be your little sisters," Mina chuckled. "Guess the only ones that gotta grow up are you two."

"Yeah… don't count on that," Martin muttered, making the three of them chuckle. Ventus just smiled at the group.


	24. Episode 25-26: Return of Chaos (finale)

It was night in the human world. In the Tortuga HQ, the team was deep asleep.

In the Varmitech Building, Zach wandered around. He observed his inventions for a while, then sat on the couch and watched and re-watched his confronts with the Wild Kratts. It seemed like… they WERE all his fault.

"Wow… I never realized how I was… inconsequent..." he observed, as he ate popcorn and changed the videos with his remote. But, deep within his mind, someone observed Zach's acting with a sinister smile.

" **Hm… guess my time to arise has come… AT LAST!"** a dark voice affirmed.

Zach let go of the remote, feeling a huge pain on his head. The remote shattered when it hit the floor.

* * *

Hermia gasped, waking up on her bed. Luna entered quickly.

"Hermia, is everything alright?" she asked.

"Chaos..." Hermia whispered. "He's… here..." This statement made Luna gulp.

* * *

By morning, the Kratt Brothers were ready to explore around the forest. The only is… they couldn't decide which Creature Power to use.

"Come on, bro! Draco Lizard power is the best to use here in Indonesian rainforest," Chris insisted. "I don't even think Ven tried it!"

"Oh, come on! Tarsier powers are also cool! Remember the pain in the neck it was getting this power?" Martin protested.

"But it's DAYTIME!"

"Why do they always have to fight for my fault?" Ventus sighed as he observed his little brothers arguing.

"Ventus… have you seen Aviva?" Mina asked.

"Last time I saw her, mom had requested her for something. Guess it was about that Zach Varmitech guy. First things first though..." Ventus picked up one of the disks. "I call for peregrine falcon."

"Peregrine falcon?" the two younger brothers complained.

"Well, one thing I learned 10,000 years ago with A&T: if you can't decide, you're out."

"Come on, Ven! What about the Draco?"

"I still say the tarsier!"

"What did I just say, bros?" Ven questioned in a calm yet stern tone. The little bros froze. "*giggle* I'm joking, dudes. You pick whatever power you want. I say we have a race between the three powers. It'll be fun."

The brothers agreed, now even more excited.

Suddenly, they heard a noise in the Tortuga's shell. Koki and Jimmy also heard it. Sam, who was taking a nap nearby after breakfast, woke up from the noise.

As they climbed up to see what happened, they saw… Aviva! Her hoverbike was broken and she was breathing hard.

" _Querida!"_ Ventus gasped. "What happened?"

"Zach… Chaos… he's here!" it was all she could say before she fainted in Ventus' arms.

"Chaos?" Martin gasped at this name. "Eris's apprentice?"

"The one responsible for my transformation into Black Storm," Ventus gulped. "But how?"

"I believe he was never really gone." Hermia appeared through a portal.

* * *

Inside the HQ the crew heard Mother Nature's story.

"You remember well from your visions that Chaos was defeated by Aqua, Terra and Ventus… but instead of vanishing, he became a dark smoke cloud and was carried away to the underworld. However, I believe he somehow escaped and found a host to live and recover."

"And this host was..." Koki asked, and Bites shivered.

"The Earth Gem. Deep within it, his smoke form was locked. One more reason to protect it.

 _As years passed, then generations, never Chaos showed his face again, for his strength wasn't enough. But apparently he finally gained power when he started living in Zach's subconscience._

"You remember that Zach first appeared as Chaos thanks to his attempt of stealing the Earth Gem, right?"

"How could we forget?" Martin asked. "It was in this day we met Mina. But we sure didn't get what happened to him."

"In his attempt, he freed Chaos' spirit, and when you defeated him, he was locked inside Zach's subconscience. For a long time, perhaps, but not forever.

 _"All this time, he has been feeding himself of Zach's hatred for you all, and when Zach apparently gave up his attitude, he decided to finally take over his "weakened host"'s body and mind._ "

The team was shocked. It was all happening under their noses, and they didn't even notice.

"Now he's free… and he'll hurt more than just the ecosystems." Hermia observed through the Tortuga's window. The Wild Kratts held their medallions firmly.

"Hey, can we wait a second, mom?" Elsa asked. "I thought this Chaos was Zach's past life. I mean, you guys all say that they look alike."

"He is Zach's past life. However, unlike normal reincarnation, he was just of body. Zach wasn't born with Chaos' powers or mind originally. Guess you could say that Chaos had "reclaimed what's rightfully his"."

"Oh. Got it."

"Oh, no..." Mina mumbled. "If he's back… he'll go after the Earth Gem again. Or worse, other elemental items of great power!"

"Would this include… our medallions?" David asked. "We all know they're powerful."

"Or worse, David... The Elemental Crystals," Koki added, holding her Magma Crown with half of the Trinity Topaz.

The team agreed. They were powerful as well, maybe even more powerful, and needed to be protected.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the frog pond, Gavin was training his fishing again. Suddenly, he looked up to see dark clouds arriving.

"Whoa… is it going to rain?"

In another part of the park, Aidan was with Nolan, and saw the dark clouds as well. Laura and Tania also saw the clouds from where they were.

"Impossible. The weatherman affirmed there wasn't a chance of raining today."

"Uh… I don't think those are rain clouds, Tawny..." Laura saw someone in the middle of the clouds.

"This is like when... Oh no..." They gulped.

* * *

The team reunited at Athena's temple. David, Clarissa and Sam remained in the HQ.

"If that's the case, we must alert all gods to keep their weapons and elemental power protected, pronto," Athena decided. "Luna, call Hermes and all the messengers you can reach."

"On it," Luna said. Without another second to lose, she was off. Mina looked really worried. She was their guardian… wasn't she supposed to protect her family with all she could? Was all she had not enough?

"Mina, are you okay?" Aviva asked.

"Uh… yes. Sure," Mina assured. However, she wasn't buying it and neither were the bros.

"Wilhelmina," Chris lightly scolded. "You look upset. You know you don't need to hide anything from us. Come on." He gently asked.

Before Mina could explain, David called on the Creaturepod.

"Guys! We have a major crisis here!"

"Why thank you for being a "gentleman", you brat," another voice said sarcastically.

"GAH!" David gasped. "Please, get over here!" he shrieked, before turning off the communication. The team gasped.

"David needs help!" Elsa declared.

* * *

Back in the human world, David hid in the Invention Garage. Clarissa carried Sam there, trying not to make noise. The mutant Guardian was restless.

"Come on, be a good kid and give me that Crystal..." Chaos threatened, entering the room. Laura and Tania, along with their children were trapped inside energy spheres.

"I will never give Apollo's Pearl to a psycho like you," David retorted silently, his hand gripping his Temporal Crown. "Clarissa, get the pack. We need all the help we can get."

Clarissa nodded, leaving Sam in a hammock nearby. She wondered for a minute how there's one in the garage, but of course, returned to her mission.

"Come out wherever you are. Though I hate hide-and-seek."

The Time Guardian made eye contact with his friend. Sam nodded in approval. David's medallion transformed into the crossbow.

"Just a friendly call… I would stay right here if I were you."

The crew arrived just in time.

"Laura!" Martin gasped, seeing his girl and his brother's girl, along with their little friends trapped. "Tania! Boys!"

"Martin! Chris! Help!" Aidan pleaded.

"Chaos! Leave them alone!" Mina proclaimed, holding the Gaia Scepter.

"So… we meet again, plant girl," Chaos mocked. "And you too, rats!"

"Still calling us rats, huh?" Ventus growled. "You haven't changed a bit since last tme, Chaos."

"Well, if it isn't Mama Nature's little boy. Did you like the "present" I gave you?" the Demi-god of Discord teased.

"No. NOT. A. BIT." the Kratt in white growled in fury, his eyes glowing silver.

"Good. And by the way, thank you for dealing with your pesty brothers for me and my mom. Makes us have less dirty work to do."

"You fiend… I will make you wish you were never reborn," he growled, struggling to not shatter his brothers' ears.

"Not without us, bro," Chris proclaimed. "We defeated you once, twice… we can defeat you thrice!"

"Agreed. You are not welcome here!" Mina lift up the Gaia Scepter, ready to attack. With the help of the Guardians, she powered up the scepter, shooting a powerful beam of light on the Demi-god's direction. But, to their shock, he simply stopped the attack, absorving the magic.

"You fools! Did you really think your old trick can defeat me again? I've powered myself enough deep within my actual reincarnation to repel you spell!" He shot a dark beam in the hybrid's direction, but she defended the team with a forcefield.

"I… I can't believe it..." Mina was even more shocked than the team.

"You cretin!" Chris attacked with his bow, but Chaos broke all the arrows he shot. David tried his crosssbow, but the same thing happened.

"And don't even think of using your new… what you call them? Oh, right. Crown Froms," Chaos mocked. "That power won't be enough to defeat me. NO POWER WILL BE ENOUGH TO DEFEAT ME!" Chaos escaped through the Tortuga's shell, laughing as crazy, and taking the Kratts' companions and little friends with him.

"Gee… you want some fries with that ego?" Jimmy commented.

"Jimmy! Get the Tortuga out of here!" Koki said. "If he wants to pick a fight, let's at least find an empty place. It'll be dangerous if any creature or human is nearby. He can make new victims."

"Koki's right," Aviva decided. "Let's take off."

As the Tortuga started flying, Chaos noticed the turtle ship following him.

"UGH! Don't they know the meaning of "resistance is futile"?" he complained, flying out of their sight.

"Hey! Where did he go?" Jimmy looked over.

"Jimmy! On your left!" Chris warned. Jimmy immediately turned the HQ to the left, not even leaving enough time for the crew to fasten their seatbelts.

"Ugh… I think I'm gonna be sick," Sam complained.

"Mina?" Elsa noticed a frightened expression on her face. "Are you okay?"

"He… he's too strong..." It was all Mina could say. The time nymph could see... dismay and fear in her eyes. What was happening?

Suddenly, the lights started turning on and off.

"Jimmy… what's going on?" Ventus wanted to know.

"Oh, this isn't good!" the redhead Fire Guardian gulped. "Our power is… failing!"

"Huh?" Koki asked, confused.

"Yoo-hoo!" Chaos called from the window. "Maybe your turtle can follow me, BUT it doesn't run without _these_..." They looked over to see a cloud minion carrying...

"The tellurium crystals!" Martin gasped. "You coward!"

"It's so me! _Au revoir_!" Chaos left their sight, as the team saw the HQ shut down and fall.

"Hang on!" Jimmy tried to land somewehre safe. Eventually, they tumbled into the Sonoran desert.

"Ugh… is everybody ok?" Ventus asked.

"Ow... Landed on my patootie, but I'll be fine," Koki replied.

"That snake!" Chris snapped. "Not meaning to offend snakes, of course."

"Luckily, he didn't take all of the crystals." Koki placed one Crystal left behind back where it belonged. "But it isn't enough for us to go after him."

"Luckily we landed in the Sonoran desert. In the Rattlesnake Crystal adventure, it said that Tellurium can be found in the rattlesnakes' lair." Bites analyzed the Wild Kratts Diary. "However, it won't be enough to get us out of here. Only to keep the Tortuga alive."

"Well, we'll see if we can go to that rattlesnake hibernaculum to get more tellurium," Martin said, grabbing his rattlesnake disk.

Mina sighed. Once again, when the threat was right in front of her family, she wasn't able to do anything.

"What's eating ya, sis?" Ven asked.

"Nothin', Ven. Nothin' at all." Mina didn't want to worry them more. "I'm just… not so good as from when I started to be a part of the team."

"What's makes you think that?"

"This whole thing with Chaos... I couldn't do a thing to help. And the others can't do anything with their medallions or they'll lose them to him... we're pratically doomed!"

Mina felt pain in her chest from the mere speech of that word.

"Sis?"

"I-I'm okay." Mina stood up quickly.

"No, you're not," Martin argued. "Hm… you look pale. Maybe you just need some rest." Mina agreed. She DID felt a little more tired than usual.

* * *

Chaos sent his minion clouds to cause destruction anywhere he stepped. Children cried, people ran away, animals hid where they believed it was safe…

The demi-god himself laughed evilly as he watched all the discord his clouds were causing.

"I am king of the world! King of the world! WOO-HOO!"

"Aw, quit it. I'm sure that the Wild Kratts will stop you," Laura commented.

"You tell him, Mom," Ronan said.

"That's what we'll see." Chaos smiled evilly to them.

"Sheesh, I prefer Zach's ego," Tania stated.

"Agreed, sister," Laura replied.

"That cheap reincarnation?" Chaos snapped.

"Yes," they responded firmly. Chaos growled, but decided to ignore them for now.

* * *

"Well, the Tortuga's on again. All we need now is fixing the propolsors and we'll be on our way," Aviva warned. "Oh, that reminds me… how's Mina?"

"Not that good, I fear," Ventus admitted. He touched her forehead. "She's not hot… she's COLD. Really cold."

"What?" Chris and Martin gasped. Martin touched her face. It was true: Mina was getting cold.

"But how? It's not even night yet in the Sonoran desert. She can't be that cold already."

"Tell me Ven… you were with her. Did you notice something… different?" Elsa asked.

"Well… she told me she was feeling… less of what she was before," Ventus admitted. "Plus, after a short resume of the crisis we're into, she said we're… DOOMED."

"WHAT?! Doomed? But she never said that word before! Ever!" Koki added.

"I think I know what's wrong." Luna touched her forehead. "Hermia and Athena told me to keep it a secret, but..."

"But what, Luna?" Jimmy asked.

"Do you know what kind of nymph Mina is?"

"Hmm... Now that you mention it... She never told us," Chris responded.

"Because she didn't know herself. She's a rare light nymph kind… a Hope Nymph."

"There are light nymphs?" Martin asked.

"Of course! Why didn't I notice that?!" David exclaimed, as if scolding himself. "Her behavior… her glowing eyes filled with love and care… even her not-giving-up attitude. Those are key personality traits of light nymphs."

"Hope Nymphs are normally born in times of despair or suffering."

"Hm… Flora suffered due to her so-close family's fall… and Mina was born millenniums after that," Aviva thought.

"However, there's several risks to light nymphs," David added. "If they start giving in to despair themselves... they get weaker and weaker… perhaps even die."

"Mina's… DYING?!" Sam gasped. The team looked at Mina. Her skin looked even more pale.

* * *

In Athena's temple, Mina was on a short pedestal with a blanket over her.

"Oh, my Muses… she looks even worse than last time we saw her," Ventus gulped.

"Chaos..." Chris growled with such venom in his voice. "He won't get away with this..."

"She's getting even weaker. Her Hope might be fading away due to the unfortunate events you faced today," Athena analyzed.

"Well… first, Aviva was wounded by Chaos, then our friends were captured, and our attack didn't work," David summarized.

"She felt worried about us, but kept saying everything was okay," Elsa remembered. "Like she… didn't want us to worry even more."

"But eventually… she said we were… well... doomed," Ventus added. "That wasn't like her at all."

"Hm… It seems she tried as much as she could to keep you all hopeful… but in her attempt… she forgot to keep HERSELF hopeful."

"So... WE did this to her too..." Koki said.

The team looked down, ashamed. It was their fault as well. How could they save her now?

* * *

Chaos observed the doom caused by his minion clouds.

"More pollution in the ponds, boys," Chaos ordered some minions. Meanwhile, in the energy spheres, Laura looked around the skies.

"Oh… I only hope Martin, Chris and the rest of the Wild Kratts are okay."

"So do I, fella. So do I," Tania admitted. The kids looked down, worried.

* * *

The team wandered around the temple. Luna and Athena kept taking care of the agonized Mina, as her skin got colder, and her colors seemed to vanish.

"Mina...what have we done to you?" Chris lamented. "We're so sorry..."

 _"Okay! I say enough pouting and looking glum!"_ Martin seemed to yell.

"Aqua?" The Water Guardian at his medallion. It was glowing intensely with the snowflake appearing.

 _"Come on, are you Guardians or not?!"_ came Koki's voice from her medallion.

" _Yeah, guys! Come on!_ "

"Rose?"

"Pyce?"

All the subconscience past lives materialized themselves via the medallions.

"Wow..." Ventus observed. "How long did you know you could do that?"

 _"Long time, no see, Ven,"_ Flora greeted.

" _Guys, we've seen you overcome worse crisises than this one. You never gave up once,"_ Terra said. " _Did you give up when the Tortuga first started to run out of power?_ "

"N-no..." Aviva replied.

" _Did you give up when Martin was captured by that Donita lady along with Draco Lizards?"_

"Definitely not."

"And thank goodness," Martin commented. "I do not want to be her model again. EVER."

" _See? You did overcome the worst of situations together. We're confident you can overcome this one too. You just need to stop pouting and put your heads to work with full energy. Try keeping up at least a teeny, tiny, bit of Hope that you can do it."_

Luna thought for a moment. Energy, huh? Then, an idea came to her. Without any of them looking, she bookmarked some pages in the Wild Kratts Diary.

"Hope this helps." She left the temple, winknig at Athena. The goddess looked at the book before catching on to her idea.

"Are we glad to have you as past lives," Aviva complimented with a smile. "We really needed that."

"Sure did," Chris agreed. Then, Athena called their attention.

"I believe THIS can help you." She showed them the Wild Kratts Diary, leaving them a bit confused.

* * *

"UGH! I can't take it anymore!" Tania growled. "We need to get out of here!" Laura wanted this too, but for them all to escape, Chaos needed to be distracted.

"Let us handle this," Gavin decided. "Uh… Chaos, what are you doing?"

"Causing destruction to all parts of the world, twerp.'"

"And why are you doing that?" Ronan asked.

"Because it's fun."

"More like deranged," Aidan commented. "Didn't your mama teach you any manners?"

"She taught me how to use magic, how to manipulate and how to destroy."

"But destroying isn't right," Ronan pointed out. "We like constructed things."

"Do you like constructed things?" Aidan teased.

"AH! I can't take you twerps anymore!" Chaos growled, popping the two energy spheres, making them all fall. Luckily, they weren't THAT high in the sky.

"Easy as pie," Gavin commented.

"Same old Zachary," Aidan joked. "No matter the mind." Nolan chuckled in Tania's arms.

"They take after us," Laura and Tania observed.

* * *

"Hm… that's interesting." Chris read the Wild Kratts Diary. "Luna bookmarked some sessions of the Wild Kratts Diary. All about the Crown Form adventures. And they all have something in common."

"What is it, Chris?" Aviva asked.

"Well, in all situations, we faced challenges where standing up for the inner strength we represent wasn't easy. Me, for example. It was hard for me to show Mercy due to my frustration. But even though I did mean the things I said, just because I felt bad, the others didn't had to." He looked at Martin. "Bro, remember how afraid you were after that wave nearly drowned you?"

"How can I not? But seeing Pearl get over her fear helped me understand mine."

"Koki, Jimmy, your siblings, in different ways, made you remember how grateful you should be and how you should never let anyone take advantage of your generosity."

"Generosity comes in many forms, I must say," Koki admitted.

"And Aviva… even Zach made you realize-"

"The importance of being kind even to your enemies when in times of need," she finished for him. "A reality shock, but one I really needed."

"And I learned the importance of at least, TRYING to be patient. In baby steps, I'm getting there," David admitted.

" _Through all of these situations, you never gave up,"_ Flora pointed out.

 _"And it was that hope and lesson that called the Crystals to you like when you first found the Elemental Gems,"_ Rose added. _"Therefore, you gained your Crown Forms."_

 _"It seems that the Crystals were weakened by your lack of hope when you faced Chaos,"_ a spectrum of David, Beowulf, informed. " _That's why it didn't work at first. Not only Mina needed more hope, YOU did as well… but you haven't noticed that, did you?"_

"No..." The team admitted.

 _"Beowulf!"_ Pyce hushed him. The Scandinavian warrior raised his hands in guilt with a nervous smile. Then, he turned to his reincarnation.

" _Sorry I haven't showed up at first, David. Guess I was a little shocked and confused about your timeline to say anything."_

"Apology accepted." David smiled.

"Guess we know what to do now," Chris decided, looking at the Gaia Scepter and the Crowns.

* * *

Far away from Chaos' sight, the two mothers and the kids talked.

"Good, now we're free. But how can we warn the Wild Kratts? We don't know if their Creaturepods are working." Tania asked.

"Guys?" Bite-Size's voice called for them.

"Bite-Size? We thought you were with the team." Gavin recognized the bat.

"Nah, I was in the forest, visiting an old friend." Bite-Size looked over, seeing a female bat waving at him. It was no other than Chirpelle. "Had to cut my visit short cause I heard about this Chaos guy. What happened, and where are the Wild Kratts?"

"We're not sure..." Laura admitted. But then, she saw the Tortuga HQ coming down in the park. Sam was piloting, being the only one around there, while the others were in Athena's temple.

"This, I can answer," he said, once he came out of the turtle ship.

* * *

The team reunited around the Gaia Scepter, showing their Elemental Crystals.

"These Crystals once belonged to the Gaia Scepter," Chris affirmed. "Guess it's time for them to return to their rightful place."

"We all know it's only the first step. The next one will only be possible if we believe," Martin affirmed. "We must keep our hope up, even though it's the smallest of hope. We must do it for us… for Mina… for Gaia's treasure, and all the ones living on it."

"Wow… that was really good, bro," Ventus said. "Why aren't you the leader?"

"Well, me and Chris are the leaders, but HE's better qualified than me," The Kratt in blue admitted. Chris grinned in embarrassment.

The team placed each of the Crystals in the right place, following Athena's instructions. But unseen to them, Mina started to be floated away.

"The Gaia Scepter is fixed… but remember: as much powerful it is, it won't work right if we don't believe," Chris reminded.

"Mina?!" Elsa gasped, seeing her sister missing. "Guys, Mina disappeared!"

The team gasped, seeing the pedestal empty. Then, they looked up to see a minion cloud, and got what happened.

* * *

"Okay, okay, to the part where Chaos is Zach's past life, everything fine, but the rest… wow, totally mind blowing," Laura admitted, as Sam told what was going on, trying to make it simple.

"I got Mina's nearly dying," Gavin said, worried. "But can't we do anything to help?"

"Well… unless the team found a way to solve the situation… all we can do is pray… or fight back with all we have," Sam decided.

"Don't start without us," Chris's voice called their attention. The team appeared throguh a portal. "Chaos got Mina!"

"WHAT?!" Bites gasped.

"No way!" Gavin gulped.

"That poor little thing..." Laura lamented.

"Yoo-hoo… Wild Rats..." Chaos's voice called for them. "I have something you might want back..."

The team felt menaced enough to go out of the Tortuga and face the Demi-god.

"Mina!" Aviva gasped, seeing her little sister floating in an energy sphere.

"Put her down, Chaos!" Chris yelled, entering Forest Crown, with the scepter's help.

"Hmm... First, give me that shiny crown you got there. And the blue boy's too."

"No can do," Martin pointed out. "They're part of the Gaia Scepter again. This means we ALL can use it to face you!" He entered Sea Crown at that. The rest of the Guardians entered their Crown Forms by touching the Scpeter.

The light of them called Mina's weakened yet still alive attention.

They all attacked with all they had, but eventually Chaos absorved all power he could, throwing back at them.

"Ugh... This is not even tickling him. Something's missing."

"Or someone," Aviva reminded. "We need Mina to fight with full power."

"Oh, yeah… Forgot about that," Chaos taunted. "Let's do this way: give me the Crystals… or else," he threatened, pointing to Mina with his hand about to attack with another dark beam.

The two brothers stared death glares at the Demi-God, who wasn't intimidated at all. But Mina needed them, and she was just as important.

"Fine… just promise she'll not get hurt."

Quietly, the bros and the others removed the Crystals from the Scepter, changing back to normal. Chaos held his hand out.

"First, Mina," Martin demanded.

"Fine. She's useless anyway."

"What did you say?" Chris questioned, his tone being dark.

Mina coughed inside the energy bubble. Luna tried to free her, but Chaos trapped her in a cage of clouds.

"Mina… don't listen him," Aviva warned. "We're sorry. You already felt bad and we only made it worse. It's not your fault we all got in this situation… it's ours."

"No... I gave up hope so easily," she mumbled weakly. "It wasn't you at all..."

"NO! It WAS our fault! We all showed lack of hope at first… but you're the one that reminded us to keep on believing we can do anything."

"You're our Light, Mina," Koki added. "If there was a Light Gem, and I'm not kidding here, you'd be the first choice to be the Light Guardian."

"Light Gem..." Aviva mumbled. "Wait! I know!" She grabbed the Gaia Scepter and removed the main jewel, a crystal that was like a crystal ball. It started glowing when she touched it. "Whoa! All this power… came from Mina?"

"And from Flora too, don't forget. And Terra, Aqua, Rose, Pyce… you know, as you say, the gang's all here," Luna affirmed.

"No!" Chaos gasped. In his distraction, he popped Mina's trap bubble, making her fall. Ventus quickly caught her. Martin and Chris hurried to them, but then...

"Hey! A deal's a deal!" Chaos lashed out at them with a whip of darkness. The blond and brunette got hit on the head, but stood their ground.

"You already broke it, thank you very much. You said she would not get hurt, but you didn't say thanks to who," Chris said.

Chaos gasped. He was tricked!

"You may be evil, but your weakness is just like Zach's… As smart as you might be, you can be easily fooled," Martin stated.

"Huh?" Chaos gulped. Ventus kicked him to the floor, freeing Luna from the cage, and making him drop the Crowns he already stole.

"That's for 10,000 years ago," he said, feeling vindicated.

Mina was held calmly by Aviva, as she put the energy ball in her weakened hands. A bright light exploded in the room, making everyone shield their eyes.

*BG music: Titanium - David Guetta ft. Sia*

"I… I feel your energy… your hope… you do believe in me… you really do..." Mina started to smile, as her colors started to return. An orb of light came out of the crystal. It was medallion shaped, yet it went right to her head, assuming the shape of a small crown.

"Mina?" Aviva called. The nymph's eyes opened. There were like an electric blue. Immediately, her energy carried the crowns to the team, like a signal for them to use them.

As they activated their own Crown Forms, the crowns reacted to Mina's new crown, giving her a Crown Form of her own: her dress became pure white with only a few pink details, her hair got wavy, and the flower on her dress multiplied into one more flower and with them white with pink crystals for the center.

All powered up, the team lifted up to face Chaos. As much as he tried, the forcefield around them seemed indestructible.

"N-no! Impossible!"

"No, Chaos! It isn't as long as we believe. Believe in ourselves… in our planet... in the power of nature!" She lifted up her energy ball, and the scepter's last part returned. The crystals also returned to the scepter, and Mina held it firmly with a much powerful attack.

All Chaos could do was yell, as he was surrounded by the rainbow-colored lights. After this, the lights spread around the world, fixing all the damage his cloud minions caused.

While all of this was happening, Mina swore she heard the sound of shattering glass.

* * *

The light attracted Laura, Tania, the boys, Bite-Size and Sam to outside the Tortuga. Mina came to, her tiara laying beside her.

"Sis?" Aviva knelt next to her.

"I'm okay… and this time, it's true," Mina admitted. "Oh, dear..." She pointed to the medallions: they were in pieces… and so was the Gaia Scepter. It looked like they were used to their limit.

"It was worth it." Martin pointed to Zach. Once back to normal, he managed to run away.

"Maybe he finally learned his lesson," Koki said.

"More like Chaos did," Elsa pointed out. "Zach had nothing to do with this… this time."

"Let's wait to see this for sure." Aviva assured. "And Mina… again, we're sorry."

"I forgive you… if you can forgive me too," the hybrid asked. The team embraced her in response, happy that their Guardian was okay again. Clarissa then arrived, panting.

"I'm so sorry I haven't got here sooner! Me and my fellow wolves were battling some dark clouds that were attacking, and then came this light out of nowhere and..." She saw that everyone was looking at her. "I missed the party, right?"

"Yeah. Sorry, darling." David was honest.

Suddenly, the shards reacted to Mina's tiara, forming new and better medallions. They floated over their owners and came around their necks.

"Hmm... I think I'll call it the Aurora Crown," Martin observed the tiara.

" _Perfecto_ ," Mina agreed. "As Aviva would say."

"But where did the Light Gem come from?" David asked. Hermia appeared by their side.

"I don't know myself. But Gaia once told me it was here before even she was around."

"A power before even grandma?" Elsa gasped. "Leaping Lotus…"

"So Mina IS a Nature Guardian now?" Koki asked.

"Deep inside, she ALWAYS had been one," Chris affirmed. "Because she ALWAYS kept her hope up. But even the most hopeful needs a wakeup call." Mina blushed.

Laura and Tania rushed to their boyfriends' sides, while the boys reunited around Mina, happy she was okay. In the middle of this happy scene, Ventus noticed something.

"Uh… you guys?"

"Huh? Something wrong?" Martin asked.

"Uh…. nothing. Nothing." Ventus thought it could only be mere impression, due to all they faced before. However, unseen to the team, a small black stripe appeared secretly in Martin and Chris's hair.

* * *

The team was received as heroes in Hermia's temple. Their friends, creatures and humans, and loved ones have been gathered from all over the world. The team wore their Crown Forms, glad that they could keep the uniforms and weapons.

"My dearest ones… we all faced the consequences of Chaos's newest attack… but, with sacrificial courage and strength, once again, the Nature Guardians brought peace to our dear Earth, preventing damage on Gaia's treasure. And we also bring to attention the newest Guardian: our Guardian of Light, Wilhelmina Meredith Kratt!"

Mina started walking from the door to meet her friends, using her new pink and white dress. As she stood up in front of them all, Luna lift up the curtains to reveal the newest stained glass, showing Chaos's second defeat by the hands of the Nature Guardians.

For the Wild Kratts, it meant the end of another chapter of their adventure as Nature Guardians. But they all knew the adventure wasn't THAT close to end.


End file.
